Labyrinthine
by swim4life4ever
Summary: L left her eight years ago, telling her not to look for him. What if she accidentally stumbles upon him? LxOC
1. English for Dummies

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DEATH NOTE. If I did, L would still be alive.

First Death Note Fic.

Don't Hate, Appreciate :)

* * *

**~L PoV~**

"Misa-chan, you have to go. Ryuzaki and I have a lot of work to do," Light said as kindly as he could, trying to pry Misa off of him. The silly girl. How could someone like Light-kun fall for someone... so.... clingy.

"Bu-but Light-kun! I love you so much I just want to be with you!" Misa cried in a high-pitched voice. "And I don't want THAT pervert following us around!" she pointed a finger at me. Yes, Misa had voiced her dislike towards the handcuffs Light and I wore from Day 1. But it could not be helped. Even the slightest chance that Light-kun was Kira (Approximately 10% chance he was.) had to be taken in account.

Light-kun let out a long sigh and ushered the three of us to the door. "Misa-chan, I promise, when this is over, we WILL be together." Misa's eyes started to tear up. She nodded, and exited the premises.

I turned to Light-kun. "Misa seems.... persistent recently." Light-kun's response was an ever-so-classic eye roll.

"Ryuzaki, pardon me, but what in the world do you know about women?" I was slightly offended.

"Why, Light-kun, I have had experience with females. Unless Light-kun doesn't believe me...." I hung my head, my dark hair covering my vision.

"Honestly, Ryuzaki, I don't."

"That's understandable. If I told you about it, would you then believe me?" I inquired. Light thought about this for a second.

"Perhaps."

"Well, about eight years ago, I was working on a case in Hiroshima........."

"_L, may I speak with you?" Watari's Gothic-style 'W' appeared on the screen, replacing the document I had been working on prior. _

"_Yes, Watari." I replied slowly. I really needed to get back to that case..._

"_I spoke with your school. They say your grades are impeccable." Of course, Watari had to speak to the school I was 'attending'. In reality, I'm only here to work on the case going on near by the school. No one would suspect a seventeen year old student to be the world's greatest detective. _

"_Excellent," I mumbled, thinking back to the case. Two more deaths this week. Different causes of death. Nearly no relation to the other. Nearly..... with the exception of the small cut made to each victims lower jaw, cut with something that seemed to be a scalpel. _

"_However, many of your teachers are concerned. You lack outside activities, and these are believed to be your ticket into college and scholarships." Watari explained._

"_So you say to seem like a student, I must join an activity," I replied dully, staring at the blank wall of the small apartment we had rented. _

"_That is correct."_

"_Anything is fine." I replied as I clicked of the voice chat and returned to work, sipping on my coffee. _

"Ryuzaki, I don't see the relevance." Light-kun said.

"Now, now, Light-kun. No need to be hasty," I reprimanded before continuing. "Now, two days later.....

"_I tutoring?" I asked Watari. How.... fitting._

"_Yes, English to be exact." Fine by me. "Thank you, Watari. I shall go meet..... Kaori Izumi at the cafe right now." _

_The cafe, approximately 5 blocks away, was nearly empty. In the back corner, a girl with chin length mocha hair, sat in a very relaxed manner. I walked over to get a better look at her, to make sure I was going up to the correct person. When she realized someone walking near her, she spun around, nearly falling out of the chair._

"_Jesus Christ! Are you trying to kill me?!" The girl, Kaori, I assumed, shouting._

"_On the contrary, I am in fact not Jesus Christ. Rather, I am an Atheist, thus I do not believe in Christianity," I replied as she rolled her eyes._

"_Listen, kid, I don't care if you worship some alien religion. I just want to pass English so I can get the hell out of here. It's not as if I'm going to need English, anyway. I'm going to Tokyo." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. _

"_Quite the opposite. English is most commonly spoken language. You'd need it wherever you go." Kaori gave me a hard glare and she stood up. Even slouched in my usual posture, I was quite a bit taller than her. She couldn't have been more than five-five. _

"_Listen up, I don't care if Swahili was the most common language. The only language I need is Japanese. As long as I can pass my English final, I'm FINE," she growled, sitting back into her chair. Interesting....._

"_Your temper is not necessary. As flawed as your point of view on the language may be, I cannot change your view. Now, shall we get started?" I asked calmly. Grudgingly, she nodded. I handed her the book I had been carrying around with me. She took one look at it, and with an incredulous look in her dark, opaque eyes, she threw the book at me. Had I not been gifted with such quick reflexes, the book wood have hit me square in the face._

"_You ignorant bastard!" She shouted, alerting the whole cafe as to what had happened. I put my hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down. The last thing I needed was to draw attention to myself. "Get the hell off of me, creep," She hissed under her breath. She shook off my hands and stormed out of the cafe as I looked dully upon the book, English for Dummies._

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_

Chapter 1, COMPLETE!

Feedback is loved, especially since this is my first Death Note fic.

How did I do in L's PoV? I hope it seems like him.....

Review please!


	2. Cake

DISCLAIMER: Swim4life4ever does not own Death Note. Sad day :(

Chapter 2! W00T!

* * *

"Wait, so your brought her English for Dummies?" Light asked, his eyes wide.

"Why yes, it's a very good beginners book, covering all the important parts of the language with clarity. Now if I may, Light-kun, I shall continue. The next day, I saw her in passing in the school..."

"_Kaori-san," I called out as she walked past me in the ever crowded hallway. She spun around, almost surprised to see me._

"_What do you want, Ryuzaki? Want to call me dumb because I don't have a hundred in every class?" she sneered. Oh dear, she was still mad._

"_Why are you still angry about an event that occurred 48 hours ago?" I inquired She seemed taken back. Was she just one to hold a grudge? Or had something else happened that caused this.... spite?_

"_You know, I bet I COULD get a hundred on that final if I wanted to. English is just such a stupid and boring subject it makes me yawn," she spat, completely ignoring my previous statement. This girl.... perhaps....._

"_You're right, you could never get a hundred, let alone pass the exam," I said, turning away._

"_Hey! I could get a damn hundred on the exam! Watch me!" she shouted, enraged. The fish is taunted by the bait...._

"_Really now? But, who would help you?" I asked, giving a fake look of innocence. Kaori rolled her eyes. The fish bites the bait....._

"_Fine! Tutor me! Same cafe at four, deal?" she growled, angry that she had to give in. _

"_Deal."_

_And reel the fish in._

"Wait, she actually agreed to this?" Light asked in surprise.

"Well it's in her personality to do so. She has... some sort of edge about her. She hates to be proven wrong. It's really quite remarkable," The kind of person you'd want on this case, I said to myself. I won't deny it. I truly miss her, even after eight years. "Later that evening..."

"_Hi, may I take your order?" The young waitress asked, putting on a fake smile. Clearly, she didn't like the fact that my bare feet were placed upon the booth we were currently occupying. _

"_Um, just a hot chocolate, please," Kaori asked, smiling slightly. _

"_Coffee and a strawberry cake, please," I asked. The waitress seemed take back._

"_A-a whole cake?" she asked in shock._

"_Please." The waitress nodded and placed our orders. Kaori gave me an odd look._

"_Shall we get started?" I asked. Kaori nodded her head."Okay. Conjugate these verbs in the present, present progressive, past, and future tenses." I handed her the worksheet I had typed up the night before. She placed the sheet before her._

"_So why did you move to Hiroshima?" Kaori asked._

"_Kaori-san. Please, work." I said sternly._

"_This place is SO boring! Nothing ever happens!" she replied, trying to get me off topic._

"_You don't know how to do the work sheet." It was a statement, not a question. She stared at me straight in the eyes with a very serious face._

"_Not a word." Oh my.... Suddenly, the waitress appeared._

"_Hot chocolate for the lady...." She handed Kaori her drink, which she happily took. "And the coffee and.... cake for the gentleman." I looked upon my cake happily. She left us and I started putting sugar packets into the coffee. After about six or seven, Kaori spoke up._

"_Ryuzaki, do you realize how much sugar that it?"_

"_Yes, Kaori-san. It's is most definatly not enough. What was that waitress thinking? When she comes back, I'll have to ask for more." her jaw dropped. _

"_But, you'll get fat and diabetes and.... other bad stuff!" Kaori exclaimed. Surprisingly enough, she had legitimate concern in her voice. _

"_I highly doubt I will become obese. I am, in fact, underweight in regards to my height and age," I saw her eyes widen considerably. "As far as diabetes is concerned, my glucose level is at 100 consistently, thus I have no need to worry." Kaori rolled her eyes._

"_Whatever you say." Using the fork given to me, I took a taste of the cake. It was good, but Watari has certainly done better. I looked up to see Kaori, who was cautiously sipping her beverage, starting to eye the cake, her long, layered bangs falling forward. Her lower lip started to pout._

"_Something wrong?" I asked, curious._

"_That cake looks good."_

"_It's good, but I've had better." I chastised. She still looked desperate._

"_Kaori-san, if you want some, all you have to do is ask." She bit her lower lip._

"_Ryuzaki."_

"_Yes?"_

"_May I..... have a taste of the cake?" she said the words between her teeth. _

"_Why of course you may, Kaori-san." she looked to her side, but to her dismay, she had no fork and she hung her head. "Kaori-san, I can assure you I am in perfect health, and from what I can see, you are as well. I assure you, you won't become ill if you use my fork," the young girl seemed a taken back, but just took the fork from my hand and took a good sized piece of cake onto the fork and stuffed it into her mouth. Her eyes widened._

"_My god.... this is delicious!" the girl exclaimed, her dark brown eyes shining. I allowed myself a small smile. _

"_My... guardian makes a cake that puts this one to shame." This surprised her even more. "Maybe if you did some work, I could give you a sample." Kaori put on a very serious face and went to work, bowing her head._

_Her layered bangs fell gently over her eyes, focused on the work. My eyes scanned her face. She had a perfectly arched nose, the slight glasses she wore fell down the bridge of her nose. I traveled down to her lips, her lower lip slightly too large for the top. A stray amount of frosting lingered on her lip. I reached across the table and swept away the pink frosting on her lower lip. Her head shot up in surprise._

"_What.... what are you doing?" Kaori asked in surprise, her face turning very red. _

"_You had frosting on your lip," I replied nonchalantly. _

"_Ok...." she sighed slowly. Suddenly, she grabbed the fork again, took another piece of the cake, and this time throughly licked her lips and smirked at me. _

_I'm not sure which was worse._

_That this was very.... enticing for me._

_Or the fact that she had taken more of my cake. _

_This went on throughout the course of the session. She would occasionally get off topic, but I would lead her back to the worksheet. Ironically, once I had given her the conjugation, she could do the whole thing with realitvie ease._

_After about three hours, she finished all the sheets I had brought along with me. We both managed to finish the cake as well. The waitress came over, sensing our impending departure, and handed us the bill. Kaori handed me the money for her hot chocolate and half the cake._

"_Kaori-san, if I remember correctly, I am the one who ordered the cake. As far as your beverage, consider it taken care of," I said, slipping the amount into the sleeve of the bill. We stood up and for the first time I got a look at what she was wearing. _

_She was wearing skin-tight jean capris, as warm weather had recently began. On her torso, she was wearing a purple V-neck that stopped right above her bust, exemplifying it in a classy manner. On her feet her bright green shoes, Converse, if I recall correctly. She snorted in dislike._

"_Giving me the once over?" she inquired_

"_I was merely taking into account your dress." I replied. We stepped out the cafe and went our separate ways._

_And one of us had a slice of Watari's best cake in their locker the next morning. _

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_

Oh my, two chapters in a day? I think I'm crazy.

Reviewers get Watari's cake!


	3. Note

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Death Note. I do, however, own a glow-in-the dark penguin bracelet. Be jealous.

3 Chapters in less than 24 hours. That's a record for me. SUCCESS.

* * *

"Really, Ryuzaki. You bonded with her over cake?" Light asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes, I believe I sort of earned her respect in that sense. From then on we always split the cake while we worked. She actually got quite good at the worksheets I created. About a month later....."

"_Geez Ryuzaki.... I'm going to get fatter from all this cake!" Kaori exclaimed, rubbing her stomach. I glanced at her. She was by no means overweight. She was athletically built, having broad shoulders and toned legs._

"_Correct me if I'm wrong, Kaori-san, but are you not an athlete?" I inquired_

"_Yeah, swimmer." She crossed her legs under the table._

"_I can assure you that you are not 'fat'. You are very muscular, from what I can tell," I explained._

"_Yeah yeah, I've got man-shoulders and man-legs." Kaori rolled hey eyes."I already knew that much. Stupid me and being a flyer." _

"_Now, now. You honestly can't have man shoulders. You're shoulders are broader than mine." Oh my... that might have not of been a good choice of words. Kaori started glaring at me. I cleared my throat. "Now, Kaori-san, I believe it is time for you to write a composition of your choice. No less than 200 words. Don't worry, I'll time you." I grabbed the stopwatch out of my pocket._

"_So, Ryuzaki, do you always wear the same clothes? Or do you have five pairs of that exact outfit?" Kaori asked, not looking at the sheet of looseleaf I had given her. _

"_Kaori-san, please, focus." I said sternly, staring into her chocolate covered eyes._

_They sort of looked like Hershey's Kisses._

_Yum._

_I shook my head, getting ride of the thought. I then saw a look of sorrow on Kaori's face._

"_Something wrong?" I asked._

"_Ryuzaki, I.... I can't write." Kaori looked down in shame._

"_Nonsense! Just write about anything at all."_

"_No, I can form the sentences in my head, but... I can't seem to write them. That's why I'm terrible in literature, global, and English. I have to write essays. But in science and math, it's just numbers or short explanations But it's weird, because I can type really well. So in class essays are terrible, but stuff I can do at home on my laptop is simple." In a way, I understood. After all, my handwriting was bordering being illegible. _

"_What if... you had your laptop for the exam? Or even just the composition part?" I asked._

"_Then I'd be fine, I bet." Well that's fantastic...._

_It was about five o'clock when we decided to leave. Instead of doing the writing, we worked on the oral part of the exam. She always seemed to enjoy that. She got to talk more. We heard a loud beeping as we stepped out of the cafe._

"_Kaori-chan!" We both spun to face the car. _

"_Nikita-chan!" Kaori shouted in surprise. "What are you doing here?" _

"_Picking up some Gatorade for the meet tomorrow. What are you doing here?" Nikita, a friend and teammate of Kaori, I assume, asked. _

"_English tutoring," she responded with a roll of her dark eyes. _

"_Good. You can't compete if you're failing anything, you know. Interesting choice of a tutor," Nikita's eyes darted to me as I stuck my hands in my pockets, leaning against the car we had walked up to._

"_I know, but he's great. And he buys me cake, so I can't complain," Kaori laughed, as did her friend. _

"_Need a ride?" Nikita asked, looking at both Kaori and I._

"_That'd be great! You need one, Ryuzaki?" Well. Here are the options._

_I could just walk back to the apartment, but that was a little far away. Not exactly my favorite walk to do nearly everyday._

_Or  
_

_I could accept the ride. It was quicker. And well._

_I wanted to stay with Kaori._

"_Sure." I replied. Kaori threw the front door open, sliding into the front seat as I got into the back of the generic car. Off to the side were cases and cases of Gatorade. The two girls chatted in the front for a moment before Nikita put the car in drive._

"_Ryuzaki-kun, where do you like?" Nikita asked. I gave her the address as she drove. While the girls talked, I remained silent, yet completely and entirely at ease. I felt myself drift off......_

"_RYUZAKI!" I heard a scream and jolted awake, knocking my head on the top of the car._

"_Hm...?" I asked, still half asleep. Wait.... since when do I fall asleep? Kaori and Nikita laughed._

"_Ryuzaki, I think you could use some more sleep. You've got really bad bags under your eyes!" Kaori laughed. "And you're pretty darn adorable when you sleep," she reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, showing a picture of me asleep._

"_Hn." _

"_Well, this is your apartment building. I'll see you at school tomorrow, ok?" Kaori said, turned around at an odd angle in the seat._

"_Mm," I mumbled some thanks to Nikita for the ride and headed upstairs, the bump on my head swelling._

_~2 Hours Later~_

_I heard my phone begin to play the familiar tune of "Clair de Lune" and I pulled my eyes away from the computer to answer. I glanced at the caller ID, and was faintly surprised._

"_Ryuzaki." I answered._

"_Hey Ryuzaki. It's Kaori."_

"_Yes I know. I have caller ID."_

"_Then why did you answer with your name if you knew I was calling you?"_

"_Passive habit."_

"_Tch, fine. I wanted to ask you something." Kaori said with slight irritation_

"_Yes?" I asked, pleasantly surprised by her call. _

"_Well, tomorrow is our Senior Meet, which means it's my last home meet ever in high school. And we're also going up against our biggest rivals. So..... do you want to come?" _

_Did she..._

_Did she just ask me, the famous detective, L(not that she knew), to a SWIM MEET?_

_The thought of me attending a school sporting event?_

"_Sure, Kaori-san. What time?" I must be insane...._

_~The Next Day~_

"_Welcome everyone and thank you for attending this year's Senior Meet!" the announcer's voice rattled throughout the natatorium. "Today, we will have the Lions swim against the home team, the Hawks! The first event up will be the 400 meter medley relay. Swimmers please enter the water!" I saw Nikita jump into the water in the 'A' lane for our school. The race began, and all eight of the backstrokers took off down the lane. Nikita and the 'A' backstroker for the opposing team were pretty evenly matched. The two girls touched within a tenth of each other, sending their breaststroker into the water._

_Being the slowest leg of the event, this was more about technique perfection than all out speed. Unfortunately, our breaststroke seemed tense, thus her stroke was off, giving the Lions over a two second lead._

_Then Kaori leaped in._

_Her technique, was, well, graceful. Every part of her body was in sync and she was flowing. She easily passed the girl, giving us a three second lead. _

_You can't take back three seconds on the last leg of a race._

_We won the first event and the relay was ecstatic. We got third place, as well. So our points added up to being higher than theirs at this point._

_The next race was the 200m Freestyle. I didn't know anyone in that, but we got second and third place._

_Then was the 200m IM, which Kaori swam. I could see she really pushed the butterfly, and gave a fair fight in the backstroke, but her breaststroke killed her. She was, well, awful at it. Even her freestyle could catch the two who had passed her. We ended up getting third, fifth, and seventh place. And she was very, very angry._

_Then was the 50m Freestyle. One lap. How could they even consider this a race?_

_Well, Nikita swam it and got first place. I could tell she was really happy about that._

_Then was diving. I cringed every time the diver's head came close to the board, but the acrobatics were amazing._

_They had a brief warm up, allowing the swimmers to loosen their muscles. Kaori climbed out of the pool and went behind the 'A' block. Even from the stands, her face was serious, something that I had never seen on her face. She had her iPod in her ears and she started jumping up and down lightly, stretching her joints. She pulled her goggles over her eyes and she looked ready._

"_The next event will be the 100m Butterfly. Swimmers step up!" She stepped up onto the block, assuming the generic start position. The whistle sounded, and Kaori launched herself off the block, entering the water in a streamlined position. _

_Her form was, well, beautiful. Her body loose, relaxed, but going amazingly fast._

_She won by over four seconds._

_Next was the 100m Freestyle. Nikita swam this. I'm starting to think she's a sprinter._

_After that was the 400m Freestyle. It looked more like eight laps of hell to me._

_Then was the 100m Backstroke. We got sixth, seventh and eight._

_Ouch._

_Then was the 100m Breaststroke. I wonder how Kaori would do in this race, I laughed to myself._

_The final event was the 400m Freestyle Relay. Kaori, Nikita, and two other girls stepped behind the 'A' spot. This is what it came down to. The score was tied, whoever won this relay would win the meet. I could see Kaori shaking in anticipation._

_Nikita stepped up onto the block, apparently leading off. Her reaction time was quick, and she gave us an early lead of about half a second._

_The next girl kept up the pace, so we still had a half-second lead._

_However, the third girl lost some ground. A LOT of ground. About two and a half seconds. _

_Kaori flew into the water, her relay start spot-on. At the turn, the Lion's anchor was still two seconds ahead. But Kaori wasn't going to allow this. Her rhythm picked up, drafting off of the other girl's wake. Within the flags, they were stroke for stroke. And both of them lunged for the wall. Kaori and the girls shot their glances to the scoreboard._

_And they screamed. _

_Kaori climbed out of the water and was strangled by a tsunami of hugs._

_They had won by eight-one-hundredths of a second._

_~15 Minutes Later~_

_The girls all had their cake from the parents, honoring the seniors._

_I could have sworn I saw Kaori slide a tear down her cheek. _

_She then saw me and ran over to me and tackled me into a hug, wrapping her arms around my narrow waist._

"_We did it, Ryuzaki! We won!" she screamed into my shirt. I awkwardly patted her on the back, surprised by our sudden closeness. After all, she was still in her bathing suit. She looked up and me, her chin on my chest. All I had to do was lean down a little bit and....._

"_Kaori!" she instantly let go of me at the sight of her mother. She greeted her parents and started talking as I stared dumbly at the pool._

"_Ryuzaki!" Kaori called. Really, what was with her family and yelling?_

"_Yes?" I asked calmly._

"_Would you like to come over to our place for a bit?" I pondered this for a second. Did I have time? Would Watari worry? She saw the hesitation on my face._

"_We have cake." And that just sealed the deal._

_~At Kaori's House~_

_I sent Watari a quick message informing him of my whereabouts, and that I would inform him when I needed to be picked up._

_Kaori's mother had to leave to work at the hospital. Apparently she was a nurse and had to work the night shift tonight. So it was only Kaori and I in the house._

_We each took a piece of cake into the living, which I started eating. I was really hungry, I wasn't sure what was making me so hungry. But I was shaking all over. Was I... nervous?_

_Then Kaori started laughing. Really, really hard. I stopped eating my cake._

"_What's so funny?" I asked, genuinely worried. She only laughed harder, rolling on the floor we were sitting on. I grasped each one of her shoulders and braced her on the ground, staring intently at her face. Why was she laughing._

"_The-the way you were eating your cake!" she said between laughs. _

_Wait.... what?_

_She obviously saw my confused face. She pushed my hands away and sat up, taking her cake in on hand and started picking at it._

"_You were eating it like this: NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM" Kaori started shoving the cake into her mouth._

"_I do not." I argued, glaring at her. "This is how I eat." I shoved the whole piece of cake into my mouth and swallowed. Kaori started rolling on the ground again. Finally, she sat up. _

"_Ryuzaki, you have frosting on your mouth." Kaori laughed. I swept across my lips with the back of my hand. She scooted a little closer and sat up on her knees. "No... not there..." she said, leaning in slightly to wipe it away, her fingertips brushing lightly across my lips, sending shivers down my spine. Her dark chocolate eyes shining wide. Without thinking, I cupped her face with my large hand and pulled her lips to mine, kissing her quickly but firmly. She pulled back, suddenly and looked at me with wide, surprised, eyes. She then grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me to her, kissing me with and amazing amount of fervor. _

_Love is an incredible thing. It can make you do crazy things you never thought you'd do. And with each piece of clothing being pulled off, my mind became more and more lost. All I could think of was her. And that scared me._

_~Later That Night~_

_We both laid in her bed, exhausted, she was almost asleep. Kaori put her head on my bare chest, closing her eyes. _

"_Ryuzaki?" She asked sleepily._

"_Yes?" I asked._

"_I love you, Ryuzaki." as she said this, she grabbed my hand._

"_And I love you, Kaori." I said firmly, squeezing her hand._

_And the next morning, all that was left was a note for her._

_Do Not Look For Me_

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_

And done! Wow, that was long!

You better say thanks.

Cookies to reviewers, and cake to anyone who can tell my the race that was similar to a real race result :)


	4. Blindfold

DICLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I do own an illegal competition suit and it makes me sad that I can't wear it :( that shit cost $100 and I wore it for 3 races before the officials were all like "ILLEGAL ILLEGAL ILLEGAL!"

Sad day :(

So I'm totally in the mindset to write this right now, for reasons no one shall KNOW! Muahahaha!

Oh dear......

* * *

Kaori's PoV

Present Day

"Ren-kun! You're arm is crossing over on your backstroke, pivot more on your hips and bring your shoulders more out of the water." I demonstrated, twisting my arm to show him. The fifteen year old boy watched me intently and nodded, going right into his swim.

"Hey Coach! We finished the set!" I heard Saori call, the tall fourteen year old wearing a neon colored cap. She loved to stand out that way, wearing bright colored suits, caps, and mismatched goggles. But she always gave it her all in practice, pushing herself into exhaustion.

This is probably why she's my ABSOLUTE favorite swimmer.

I walked over to her lane, which she was leading.

"Great job tonight, guys. 200 warm down and pull in your lane lines," I gave them their instructions. I walked into the small office, turning off the computers, making sure everything was in order, the usual. Then I heard Kino, the head coach, walk in.

"Excited for all the championship meets coming up?" he asked. I smiled

"Very! It'll be fun to watch, it's some of these kids first time going to them."

"Well they couldn't have done it without you. I've seen so much improvement since you joined out staff. It's amazing." I blushed slightly. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow." I said my goodbyes and headed out and saw Saori by the door.

"Hey Saori-chan, psyched for the next couple of weeks?" I asked her as we walked out of the building.

"Very! But..." She led off.

"What? Something wrong?" I asked, slightly concerned.

"I'm.... I'm just really nervous, you know. I've never been to a meet this big." That was understandable, she was just starting to break out of her shell in swimming.

"Saori-chan, don't worry! I promise, I'll be there for you for your race," I promised sternly. She beamed at me. Suddenly, a car honked.

"That's my ride, I'll see you tomorrow, Coach!" I smiled That never got old. I pulled my iPod out of my pocket and plugged it into my ears, starting my run home. My feet slapping the pavement, my mind drifted to what it always did on these runs, no matter how hard I tried to stop it.....

_I slowly stirred awake. I expected it to be warm, but my bed was cold. I shot upright, clutching the blanket to my bare chest. _

"_Ryuzaki....?" I called out softly. _

_Then I saw it, sitting on my nightstand._

_Do Not Look For Me_

_For a moment, I thought that this was a joke, and Ryuzaki would pop out of nowhere. But when that didn't happen, I convinced myself this was a dream._

_Ryuzaki would never do anything like this to me._

_Not ever._

_My body shaking, I slowly got dressed, taking care with everything I did. I couldn't believe this._

_I walked out to my car and drove to the only person who could understand what I was going through._

_I knocked on Nikita's back door This was a code we had. If either of us was in serious trouble, or upset, we go to the back door _

_We used this a lot when my parents were still together._

_It had been awhile since I had to use the back door_

_Nikita, quite literally, sprinted to her back door_

"_You know, you can just walk in. My mom and dad are at work. That back door thing really has no point... Hun, what's wrong?" she asked, placing her hands on wither side of me. I handed her the note. "Get your ass in here now." she said, looking at the note incredulously. _

"_Who wrote this?" Nikita asked sternly. I tried to say his name but I just couldn't. "Kaori-chan, who wrote this?" she asked seriously_

"_Ry..... Ryuzaki...." I whispered, biting my lower lip._

"_Kaori-chan, what did you do with him?" I shook my head, not looking at her, tears streaming down my face. And I never cry. She had only seen me cry once before, and that's when I was four and broke my foot. So she was REALLY WORRIED._

"_Kaori.... did you have sex with him?" she asked, her eyes wide. Then a sobbed ripped through me as I nodded. I put my hands over my face and I felt Nikita put her arms around me and whispered, _

"_We're gonna have a "Lets Castrate All Men Party." _

That was a fun party.... I thought to myself. Blasting girl rock, dancing throughout the house she occupied. But no matter what I did, I still hurt on the inside.

I reached my house and pulled the key out of my back pocket, unlocking the front door. I dashed over to the computer, checking for any news on the Kira Case.

My dad, who was wrongfully accused of murder, what tore my whole family apart, was killed by Kira, who 'sentenced' him to that.

And this L guy, he fascinated me. He's solved crimes the whole FBI, the greatest crime solvers in the world, couldn't, all on his own.

I was in awe.

So I was doing everything I could to find him, to talk to him. I may not have the investigative skills to be a detective, but I can hack any network you give me. Of course that's why I graduated from college with a major in computers and a minor in English.

Crazy, I know.

I typed away at the computer. I had retrieved the ICPO data files on the case a few weeks ago, but I still had to track down L.

Days and weeks of hunting through files and I finally opened one file, giving me an address.

Then my computer started flashing.

"Holy shit!" I screamed, jumping away from the computer.

Then, L's computerized voice took over.

"Greetings, hacker. You have managed to retrieve this data from the ICPO headquarters. Unbeknowst to you, I had a tracking bug on this particular file, knowing it would spark interest. Especially to Kira. You are currently being tracked by my personal detectives. For your own good, I suggest you stay where you are.

If you wish to remain alive, that is."

The computer screen went black.

I stared in shock at the computer. In anger, I slapped the keyboard, causing a dent in it.

"God damn it!" I growled. But then I realized something.

L's personal detectives were coming, which means he doesn't want the police involved. So....

Does that mean I get to meet L?

I smiled t the thought, and waited for 'justice' to claim me.

About ten minutes later, I heard my door being kicked in and I jumped. The two men were wearing masks, to protect the from 'Kira', I assumed. I put my hands up and when they reached to handcuff me, I smirked, turned away from them.

I was then blindfolded and bound, not knowing where they were taking me. The car took many twists and turns and I couldn't memorize it.

I felt myself being grabbed roughly and pushed forward to walk.

Neither man said a word.

Finally, when we entered a room, I assumed, we stopped.

"Miss, you are being held here for not only retrieving sensitive material, but also on the suspect of being Kira, do you understand this?" I heard the computerized voice say. Clearly, L decided to keep his voice random for now.

"I understand how you achieved this conclusion, however, I'm quite the opposite. I wish to dispose of Kira. I wanted to join your team, thus, I wanted to meet you, which we are sort of doing now." I spoke quickly, my palms sweating.

"Miss, may I ask why you would go to such measures to do so?" L asked, the computerized voice sending shills down my spine.

"My father, Rinko Izumi, you can even look him up, was wrongly accused of murder six years ago. Kira, however, did not know this, and killed him simply because his face and name was online along with this 'crime' he committed," I explained. "I can assure you, I'm not Kira." There was a moment of silence.

"Aizawa, please uncuff and unblindfold her, if you may?" I heard several sharp gasps.

"L! What are you thinking?" A man asked is concern.

"If she's Kira, she'll kill us, or try to, especially me. I'm sure this girl, if not Kira, will be able to assist us on the premise of the hack she did. I'm sure her skills would be.... beneficial." Wow, maybe this guy wasn't bad at all. Even with the computerized voice. I felt two hands at the back of my head, undoing the blindfold. Since my feet and wrists were still bound, I fell to my knees as they undid the blindfold.

I opened my eyes, taking in the vast room, with several computer screens in the center.

Then my eyes fell on him.

With a microphone in front of him, his ebony hair was slightly in his hair. He sat slightly slouched over, bags under his eyes, wearing the same outfit as always, eating a slice of cake.

"Ryuzaki?!"

* * *

Teeheehee cliffy :)

Reviewers get my love, which I know you all want


	5. Justification

DISCLAIMER: Swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I do, however, own a pair of Jello-y feeling legs. Kick sets: Fun, but make legs=Jello

Yum.

Thanks for all the great reviews everyone! I love you all :')

* * *

**L's PoV**

I saw the girl, whom I was fairly sure I knew who it was, hit the ground on her knees, chocolate brown eyes shooting wide open. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened beyond belief.

"Ruyzaki?!" she cried out in surprise. So it was here.

I was caught between being throughly and pleasantly surprised.

Or wanting to run and hide for cover.

Regardless, one of two things were going to happen.

She was going to come right up to me and punch me across the face.

Wait until we are alone and, well, all but murder me.

Joyful options.

"So, Kaori-san, what did you ever get on that exam?"

**Kaori's PoV**

No no no no NO!

This was NOT happening.

Ryuzaki was not standing in front of me, talking to me, sitting, eating cake.

Ryuzaki was NOT L.

Except, well, he was all these things.

And he has the freaking nerve to ask me what the hell I got on an English final eight _years_ ago?!

"100%, no thanks to you," I spat in distaste.

"Aizawa. I think I need to chat with our friend here-"

"I am NOT your friend!" I shouted in anger, my blood boiling. Ryuzaki pondered this for a moment, putting his thumb to his lip. All so familiar, the way he sits, what he eats, the way he talks. It hurts.

And I'm a swimmer, I know pain.

"Your... anger, is not unexpected. However, I do suggest you calm down, we need you speaking rationally. So please, bear with me for just a moment while I make some arrangements. Then, we may discuss what is on your mind." So blunt, yet so totally Ryuzaki. There was no doubt this was him.

I clenched my fists into balls, gritting my teeth. My hair, now shoulder length, but still choppy and frayed, fell over both my eyes and my glasses.

"Fine!" I spat, attempting to stand up but failing to do so because of the restraints. I looked down in shame. I heard someone stand up and walk over to me.

I looked up and saw Ryuzaki standing over me as he knelled down to lift me up, all the while being.... handcuffed? To another guy? Oh my, just a tad kinky.

I was eventually in Ryuzaki's arms as he started to carry me. I turned to look at his face.

The bags under his eyes were still there, and if anything, worse. His skin was pale, but his sweet breath over my face was heavenly

I then spat in his face.

In surprise, he dropped me, landing on my shoulder with a thump. But it was so, totally worth it.

**L's PoV**

I felt my hands jerked up to my face, and thus, dropping Kaori.

Really? She spat in my face?

I saw Aizawa, Mogi, and Ide rush to her, roughly grabbing her by the shoulders.

"L, what should we do with her?" Ide asked with a look of disgust as I wiped the saliva off with the sleeve of my shirt. I thought about this for a second.

"Take her to my suite."

**Kaori's PoV**

I was roughly thrown into a large room and had the door locked. The restraints on my hands and legs had been cut off, so I could move around freely.

So this was Ryuzaki's suite, huh?

It was, well, somewhat disorganized. At least the desk was anyway. I saw many food wrappers and papers scattered. As I explored the large room a bit more, I came across Ryuzaki's bookshelf. On it, there were several encyclopedias But amongst the vast amount of resources, there was one shelf dedicated to other reading.

Romance novels. Some erotic, some regular romance.

In frustration and rage, I grabbed the biggest book on the shelf I could find and hurled it at the wall, leaving a dent in the wall. I rushed up to the wall and started to pound it in with my fists.

"Damn it, damn it! GOD DAMN IT!" I screamed, not caring who did or didn't hear me. I felt my knuckles split and saw many red marks across the wall. Gee, how was I going to explain this one?

I heard the door click open and stared at the enterer.

But of course it's Ryuzaki. God just couldn't spare me five freaking minutes of peace.

Ryuzaki look curiously at the wall, cocking his head to the side.

"Hmm we'll need someone to fix that." he said nonchalantly, sitting on the bed in his usual crouch. I was leaning on the wall directly across from him. I rolled my eyes.

"Eight years after you left me without some much as a reason and you care about the WALL?" I shouted. Breath, I told myself. Anger issues, I know. But right now, I think they're justified.

"Well, I do care about my suite. I'd rather is not be covered in blood stains." I stared down at my bleeding knuckles and Ryuzaki caught sight of them and hopped off the bed and dashed into the adjoining bathroom. When he came out, he had several wraps of gauze, rubbing alcohol, and medical tape.

"Ryuzaki," it hurt to say his name still. "I think that's a little unnecessary"

"Nonsense," he muttered, kneeling down to my hand, gently taking it into his to bandage it.

I snatched my hand back.

"I can do it myself!" I snapped. Talking to him was hard enough, but I couldn't have him touch me. Ryuzaki gave me a wondering voice and sighed, handing me the supplies.

"Do as you please." I gave him a mean smirk, bandaging the gashes. However, Ryuzaki seemed uneasy.

"What?" I shouted, my eyes slanted in anger. I eyed the rubbing alcohol. "It's fine, Ryuzaki, I don't need-" Before I could finish the sentence, I felt swift hands at the bandaged gauze, ripping it off. Within a split second, I was pinned on the bed, one of Ryuzaki's knees on either side of my waist. His hands had a grip over my head at my wrists. Using his mouth to open the bottle, he poured the alcohol on my knuckles, the bedspread now being stained with both the alcohol and blood.

"HOLY SHIT THIS IS TORTURE!" I screamed, thrashing around, the alcohol burning my knuckles.

"There are more effective methods of torture," Ryuzaki said in a melancholic voice. Finally, the burning subsided.

"RYUZAKI! LET ME UP NOW OR ELSE I WILL CHARGE YOU WITH RAPE AND KIDNAPPING!" I shouted, thrashing around underneath him. For such a scrawny guy, he sure was strong.

"I'm sorry Kaori-san, but I cannot allow that," Ryuzaki said with a mischievous look in his eyes, staring right at me. I started to melt. His touch burning. My whole body felt like it was on fire.

And then my lips were on fire.

He kissed me briefly, playfully, his grip on my hands loosening considerably. He pulled back, looking at me.

And then I punched him across the face.

* * *

Really, can you blame her?

I DID NOT forget that Light was attached to L, don't worry :)

Sorry it's a bit shorter. I'm a bit loopy on endorphins and I can't see straight. It's actually pretty entertaining.

Reviews are loved, please please please review! It encourages me to write more and more for all of you!


	6. Snarl

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I do, however, own a pack of Cube Gum. It's pretty epic.

And delicious.

* * *

**Kaori's PoV**

I pulled back my fist as Ryuzaki rolled off of me, laying on his back on the large bed, he hand pressed to his nose. He groaned in pain, blood seeping through his long fingers.

"Damn it, Kaori," he mumbled, closing his eyes.

"Do NOT do that, ever!" I growled. On my knuckles was a mix of alcohol, Ryuzaki's blood, and my own blood. I dashed into the bathroom and scrubbed my hands. I looked into the mirror. My hair was disheveled, there were splotches of blood dotting my face, and my eyes were bloodshot. All in all, I was exhausted.

I splashed my face with cold water, trying to wake myself up. Unfortunately, I ended up doing the exact opposite.

Sleepily, I walked back out into the main room. Ryuzaki was sitting in his usual crouch, a cloth pressed to his face, trying to stop the blood by tipping his head back. I sighed and walked over to him.

"Ryuzaki, don't tilt your head back, it could make you sick or choke." Ryuzaki blinked.

"No," he said. "Then more blood will come out." I rolled my eyes and stepped closer to him, grabbing him by his thick, ebony hair and pulled him so he was leaning forward.

"Ryuzaki, I'm a swim coach. Plenty of kids get nosebleeds at practice because the get kicked in the face." I grimaced at the memory of myself being kicked in the face by Nikita. After ten minutes of nonstop bleeding, Coach finally decided to take me to the Emergency Room. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." I remarked sternly.

"Do any of the kids get nosebleeds because they were punched in the face after kissing someone?" Ryuzaki replied cheekily, giving me a hard glare.

I let go of his dark hair and pinned him to the bed my his shoulders. My face was inches from his and I spat the words,

"Listen up and listen good. You are NOT to kiss me, bother me, or anything of the sort, do I make myself clear?" Ryuzaki pondered this for a moment.

"But what if you kiss me first? He smirked despite the blood flowing freely down his face.

-SMACK-

My hand left a red mark on the right side of his face.

"Ryuzaki, that will NOT happened, I can guarantee that," I snarled.

"97% chance you will."

I lept off the bed and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind me and collapsing against it.

**L's PoV**

As Kaori ran into the bathroom, I sat up on the bed, looking pointedly at the dent in the wall. Slowly getting up, I strolled over to the locked door.

"Kaori-san, Ill leave you be for the time being. You may occupy this room before other arrangements can be made." I opened the door leading into the hallway where Light-kun and Watari stood. Clearly, they heard what had happened. "Thank you, Watari," I said uncuffing Watari and locking myself to Light-kun once again.

"Ryuzaki.... that was.... pretty intense," Light-kun said uneasily.

"Well, Light-kun, Kaori-san is a very intense person," I shrugged boerdly.

"Lovers' quarrels," Watari commented before walking away.

* * *

Written during Study Hall, Biology, and Global.

SKILL.

I may or may not have another chapter up tonight, it depends.

Probably will cuz this one is SOOOO short, and I hate short chapters.

It looked longer in my Bio notebook XD


	7. Mouthwash

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I do, however, own the ability to do lateral planks, which is another challenge in itself.

**CHALLENGE TO READERS:** Just a fun little challenge I'm shooting out there. Draw out your favorite scene from the story. Send me the link, and I'll make sure you're hard work is mentioned and placed on my profile.

ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE?!

* * *

**L's PoV**

"L, do you know this girl?" Soichiro asked with a look of worry on his face. Well of course he'd worry about the girl, he does in fact have a daughter.

"Yes, Yagami-san. I met her during a case approximately eight years ago during a case in Hiroshima," I got into my chair, my feet on the seat, as Watari brought me a fresh coffee and a chocolate bar.

"What is your..... relationship with her?" Soichiro asked once again. I pondered this for a moment.

"We had sex on one occasion before I had to leave for another case."

And for some reason, this didn't go over too well.

Ide spilled his coffee.

Aizawa looked dumbstruck.

Mogi kept a passive face, but his eyes betrayed him.

Soichiro was struggling for words.

Misa kept shouting, "Ryuzaki-kun got lucky!"

Matsuda, however, was just laughing.

"Matsuda, may I ask what is so comical about this situation?" I asked, looking at him from my peripheral vision. I saw a chill run down his spine.

"W-well, Ryuzaki, you don't seem, um... how do I put this.... good with the ladies?" Matsuda stuttered out his words. "She's so gorgeous! I mean, what did she see in you?" The moment he said the words he looked like he wanted to take them back.

I knew Matsuda meant no harm, so action didn't need to be taken.

I looked up at the ceiling and closed my eyes and said,

"My sentiments exactly."

**Kaori's PoV**

I willed my breathing to slow as I leaned against the wooden door, Ryuzaki's word playing through my head over and over again. Every word, every breath, every touch. My body was on hyper drive, my senses shooting off randomly. My body was shaking. I knew what I needed, but I couldn't get it. Not in here at least.

I decided to turn the water on and take a shower to relax my body. I let the room fog up, creating warmth in the previously cool room. I slowly stripped myself of my clothes, checking to make sure the door was locked repeatedly. I finally stepped into the boiling water, enjoying the feeling it had on my skin. I washed off all the sweat, blood, chlorine, everything. I numbed myself so that all I could feel was the hot water on my skin. I then grew irritated when I realized there was no shampoo or conditioner. I stepped out of the shower, water spraying across the floor, and opened that cabinet, looking for anything to cleanse my body.

Instead, I found something ELSE I needed and I smirked.

**L's PoV**

I typed away at the computer, shifting through documents. Light-kun, who was at my side, was doing the same. All the task force members had left.

However, Misa, of course, stayed behind with Light-kun, goading over him.

"Hey, Ryuzaki-kun, Misa-Misa wants to know about this girl, Kaori-chan, right?"

"She is.... intense," 'Intense' is the only word to describe her.

"Ahhh so that must have been fun!" Misa said wagging her eyebrows suggestively.

"Mmmm" I murmured. I really should check on her.... it's been three hours now. Perhaps she has calmed down. I stood up.

"Come, Light-kun." I heard Light-kun mutter something along the lines of 'I'm not a dog'. And of course, Misa followed.

"Where are we going? To see Kaori-chan?" Misa questioned, jumping up and down in front of me. I kept my face blank and continued walking.

"Mahhhh Ryuzaki-kun is so mysterious!" she squealed. Or dear.... Really now, what has Light-kun gotten himself into? Of course, she COULD be the Second Kira...

I shook my head. Right now, I had pressing issues to deal with.

I reached the door of my suite and knocked on the door.

No answer.

I knocked again, this time louder.

No answer.

I sighed and opened the door.

She wasn't in the main room, but I heard the shower water running.

"Kaori-san!" I called into the room through the door.

No response.

"Kaori-san!!" I shouted very loudly. Certainly she would have heard me by now.

"Misa-san, can you please go in and make sure she's ok?" I asked kindly, not wanting to anger her.

"Umm, sure Ryuzaki," Misa tried turning the doorknob. "It's locked." I bit my thumb. I really don't want to replace the door but....

"Misa-san, please move to the side, Light-kun, please step back," I commanded.

They did as they were told, a little fear in their eyes.

And then I kicked the door in.

However, instead of flying all the way open like it should, it stopped halfway.

"Misa-san, if you may." She nodded and stepped in.

And she screamed.

Light-kun and I dashed in and I was horrified at the sight.

Kaori-san laid naked upon the floor, and empty bottle of mouthwash next to her and a huge gash bleeding from her head.

* * *

DONE FOR TONIGHT!

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW PLEASE! 3


	8. Cabinet

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I do, however, own a COPY of L:Change the World.

It was good, but not like, godly.

But I liked the guy who played L.

SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING. English stuff was due Friday, and I had early practice Saturday morning so I couldn't stay up to write.

You know, life gets in the way.

* * *

**L's PoV**

Oh dear.....

This was not good...

My mind started reeling, determining what could have caused this.

Oh.

It was really THAT simple.

I pulled the towel hanging from the door and draped it over Kaori-san's naked body and lifted her up bridal style, working as fast as I could, only being hindered by Light-kun's action.

"Ryuzaki, what are you doing?" Light asked, being dragged every which way.

"Misa-san, please grab the first aid kit from underneath the sink, if you may." she stared ahead blankly. "Misa-san!" I snapped, causing her to jump.

"S-sorry Ryuzaki!" she dashed to the counter and pulled out the bag as I laid Kaori-san on the bed. Next thing I knew, the medical kit was right by my side. First thing's first. I checked her breathing and circulation and I relaxed a bit. Next, I put the gloved from the kit on and looked at the gash on her head. The injury was bleeding quite a bit, but it was an overall superficial wound. I dabbed the gauze pad in the alcohol solution and placed it on her head. Had she been awake, she would have been flinching and cringing in pain. The bleeding slowed as I applied pressure, and finally came to a halt. Looked at Light-kun and Misa. Peeling the gloves off and disposing of them, I grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket, pressing the button to call Watari.

"Watari, if you could please come to my suite it would be much appreciated," I hung up the phone and within a minute, Watari was knocking on the door. "Enter." I called.

Watari stepped in, amused and concerned at our current situation. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a key, unlocking my hand and putting it on Watari's. Light-kun did not look pleased, but did not argue otherwise.

"I will need to speak with Kaori-san privately once she wakes up." I said dully, staring at the gash on her head. "Misa-san, if you may, could you please retrieve some clothes from my closet for Kaori-san?" Misa gave me an odd look.

"Ryuzaki, what is she going to wear?" Misa asked in confusion. Now even I was confused.

"Clothes, Misa-san, what else?" Misa put her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowing.

"Ryuzaki-kun, she CAN'T wear guy clothes! Especially not yours!" Misa exclaimed quite loudly. "Besides, you don't have ALL the stuff she needs."

Oh.

That.

"Very well, Misa-san. If you may get the, ahem, _items_ I do not own from your own wardrobe, that would be greatly appreciated for the time being." Misa nodded and left the room. Watari followed in suit, Light grudgingly following behind.

After the door shut, I looked over at Kaori and saw her eyes start to flutter and finally open.

"Welcome back."

**Kaori's PoV**

Where am I.....? I slowly opened my eyes. My head was killing me, I was about ready to pass right out again.

"Welcome back." I heard and my eyes flickered to my right, Ryuzaki crouching on the edge of the bed. I sat up, but the towel draped over my dripped down considerably before I snatched it and pulled it back up, covering myself. Ryuzaki gave an amused expression. Suddenly, I heard someone at the door, and a petite girl with long blond hair walked in, wearing a Gothic-style outfit. She handed something to Ryuzaki, not that I could see without my glasses, looked at me briefly, I think, and walked out. Without looking in the bag, Ryuzaki handed it to me. Numbly, I opened the bag and gasped at what was inside.

A lacy, red bra.

And matching underwear.

"What the-" Ryuzaki stopped me.

"Misa will be Misa." Was his only reasoning. Using the skills from many years of deck changing, I slipped the two pieces of clothing on underneath the towel.

"Ryuzaki, are there clothes I could wear," I asked, feeling light headed and slightly nauseous.

"Yes, I'll grab some from my dresser," Ryuzaki said, stepping off the bed, walking to the dresser. Suddenly, my stomach lurched and I lept off the bed and sprinted to the bathroom, heaving all I had eaten into the toilet. Within seconds, Ryuzaki was right behind me, holding back my hair.

Here I was.

Half naked, puking my guts out, Ryuzaki holding my hair back.

And a few hours ago I was just going on a jog home.

It's so odd.

My face beaded with sweat, I leaned back, Ryuzaki trying to support me but I shook him off. I was breathing heavily.

"Kaori-san...." Ryuzaki said, an almost sad expression in his eyes. I pulled my knees up to my chest and turned my head away from him.

"You know..." I said shakily. He nodded slowly.

"Kaori-san, when did you become addicted to alcohol?"

The words hurt.

He was the first one to find out, not even my mom, not even Nikita knew about it.

I was sneaky, always hiding this from them.

Because I didn't want to disappoint them, to let them know what that had done to me.

I shook my head, biting my lip. Apparently this wasn't going to fly with him. He turned my head so that I was looking at him. I wasn't able to put up a fight. I was too weak, to spent to do anything.

"Kaori-san, please tell me," Ryuzaki stared at me, his dilated eyes intent on my face.

I was NOT about to cry.

Instead, I would be bitter.

"Let's see, the day AFTER you LEFT!" I spat, clenching my fists. He seemed slightly taken back by my sudden change in attitude.

"Hm?" he inquired.

"Well it happened like this..."

_I drove back from Nikita's feeling anything but better. Of course her boyfriend, Takashi, came over right as I was leaving. Seeing the two of them together just put me over the edge. _

_I did a lot of thinking in the car that night._

_They were so happy._

_Nikita had the perfect family, the perfect boyfriend._

_Why couldn't it be like that for me._

_Don't get me wrong, I love my parents, but... they fight. _

_A lot. Especially over money, work, and college. Hence why I wanted out of the house ASAP. _

_And well, her boyfriend was amazing. He really was a great guy, and they were SO close, so meant to be with each other. I could see them growing old together, without a doubt. _

_And for myself, well. I had never really been able to connect with any guy like that. We just seemed to work. He was the only one who had the patience to work with me, deal with me._

_And now that was gone._

_After one, indulgent night._

_Finally, I pulled into the driveway. No one was home. I gripped the steering wheel and just screamed in anguish._

_Finally, I put my head against the steering wheel. _

_I stayed like that for a bit, just breathing, thinking._

_I then walked into the house and headed to the glass cabinet in the dining room and opened it. No one ever bothered to put a lock on it._

_How ignorant. _

_I pulled out the bottle and went up to my room, my bed still a mess. I sat in the bed laying down, staring at the bottle of a long time. I closed my eyes and breathed in._

_The bed, it smelled like him, still. _

_My eyes shot open and my hands were at the neck of the bottle as I clumsily fumbled the cap to the floor. I pressed the bottle to my lips and drank._

_And drank._

_And drank._

_I felt myself become numb, shaking. I couldn't think, so I didn't think about him, about the past few months, about last night. About anything._

_And I passed out, the bottle of vodka empty in my hand._

Ryuzaki just stared at me, showing no emotion. Not a single muscle betrayed him.

"Very well, Kaori-san. Thank you for telling me." he stood up and proceeded out of the room before I shouted,

"Is this what you do all the time?! You go on different cases, using the name 'L', and while solving the case, hook up with another girl every time? Get really close to her, then leave her after she gives up her virginity to you? Is that what you do? I bet you totally love that! No one who wasn't mentally stable would do that! It's just wrong! You have no idea how much trauma that is to someone! Fucking pervert!" The words were harsh, I know. But I had to say them, after 8 _years_, I had the right to know, the right to say the words.

Ryuzaki stopped and looked at me out of the corner of his eyes, barely regarding me and said with absolutely no emotion,

"Kaori-san, you may believe whatever you believe is the truth." And then he was gone, leaving me speechless. I stood up and walked to the bed, not caring anymore, and curled up in the blankets, my head searing.

I cried myself to sleep for the first time since that night.

* * *

Angst, I know. Sorry, but it had to be written. It'll have more humor next chapter, I promise.

Reviews=Love

:)


	9. Sunburn

DICLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I do, however, own a playbill to my high school's play, Les Miserablés.

It was pretty epic, in my opinion.

* * *

**Kaori's PoV**

I slept.

Yeah, right.

More like, tossed and turned all night. The pounding in my head had dulled, but I couldn't sleep. Finally, when I felt myself drifting off, the phone beside my bed rang.

I stared at it for a moment.

It was 7:30 AM.

And someone was.... calling?

It kept ringing.

I sighed and reached across, ignoring the typical hangover feelings.

"Hello?" I said sleepily.

"Kaori-san?" It was Ryuzaki. I bit my lip.

"Yes?" I said, still rousing myself awake.

"There is breakfast in the main lobby if you would like to join us. I'm sure you are hungry and the food would be pleasing." As if on cue, my stomach rumbled. I rolled my eyes.

"Sure, Ryuzaki, but I don't exactly have any clothes..." I trailed off.

"Not a problem, there are clothes in front of the door. I will see you soon."

_Click_

Well then.

I dragged my legs off the bed and went to the door and opened it slightly, seeing the clothes in front, along with a sheet of paper, giving me directions to the lobby, written in a familiar, scrawled, handwriting and I smirked. Bringing the clothes inside, I stepped into the bathroom, this time taking a shower for real. I grabbed the shampoo and soap. Unfortunately, there was no conditioner, which wasn't good because I still had chlorine in my hair, but oh well. I showered quickly and stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around myself, grabbing my glasses that had been there since last night. I dried myself quickly and put the clothes on. I had been given typical blue jeans, a white belt, and a green V-neck teeshirt. Spying a rubber band on the desk, I put my hair into a wet ponytail. He won't even miss the rubber band. I looked at the sheet of paper I had been given and walked out of the room, heading downstairs.

Well, at least I THINK I went downstairs.

I had enter so many codes, go through so many different routes. I felt like I was in a maze. Finally, I reached the bottom of the directions and entered the large room I had recognized from yesterday. And suddenly, all eyes were on me.

So I counted.

8 pairs of eyes.

Staring RIGHT at me.

"Uh... hello?" I said, a little confused.

"Misa-san, Light-kun, Yagami-san, Aizawa-san, Ide-san, Mogi-san, Matsuda, Ryuzaki," Ryuzaki pointed around the room, finally pointing at himself. I nodded and said,

"Nice to meet all of you." I smiled, trying to set a good impression.

"Everyone, this is Kaori-san. Please regard her as you would any other task force member. But remember to watch her for suspicious behaviors, as you would Misa-san and Light-kun."

Wait.

What?

"Ryuzaki, what do you mean?" I asked in surprise.

"Is it not obvious? You can see we are short on people to work on the case. You also wanted to work on the case in the first place, and your abilities would be much appreciated." The gears in my head were turning, processing this information.

"W-wait a minute! I have a job I have to go to! Two, in fact! I work at a computer company with foreign relations and I also coach! We have championship meets this weekend!" I started blabbering on and on. Ryuzaki held up a hand to stop me, looking at me with dead eyes.

"I can assure you we can get your job to do work here. I assume you are generally on the phone or computer as you work?" I nodded. "Good, I'll have a discussion with your boss saying you need some time at home. As for these upcoming meets, well, I'm sorry, but we cannot allow you to leave."

No.

I had to be there.

"Ryuzaki... I don't think you understand the situation. The swimmers, they need me there. Please, Ryuzaki." I pleaded, ignoring how desperate I sounded.

"I'm sorry, Kaori-"

"Misa has something to say!" I heard the girl, Misa, yell. Now all eyes were on her. "I think Kaori-chan should be allowed to go to the meet!"

I could have sworn I heard a few gasps.

"Please explain, Misa," Ryuzaki said, letting her continue.

"You may not realize it, or others might not say it, but being holed up here every day is torture! Maybe not for you, you're used to this, but a lot of us miss the outside world!"

I saw everyone look down.

Ryuzaki bit his thumb, looking at the ceiling.

"We'd have to accompany her, Light-kun and I." he mumbled.

"That's fine! It's an outdoor meet, so you guys can get some fresh air and such!" I said quickly.

"Then it's decided. We shall attend the competition tomorrow, and we shall discuss the future circumstances at a later time," Ryuzaki said, turning back around so he was facing the computer. I sighed in relief, and mouthed my thanks to Misa, who gave me a slight smile, looking from me to Ryuzaki and back.

On the table in the middle of the room was an assortment on teas, coffees, and breads. I crossed the room, made myself a cup of tea, and grabbed a bagel. I sat down in one of the large chairs, my back to Ryuzaki and I was facing a man, Matsuda, I believe. His eyes were wide, staring at me.

"Hi?" I asked. Suddenly, I felt something pulling my hair roughly. "OW OW OW OW" I shouted, spinning my head around, seeing Ryuzaki, and Light, who was attached to him, standing behind me. In Ryuzaki's hand was a rubber band, my wet hair now falling in front of my face. "What?!"

"It's mine." Ryuzaki said as he put the band around his wrist before walking back the the computer.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Surprisingly, I got through the day without a meltdown.

I consider that a success.

Ryuzaki decided to test my 'skills' and set me to decrypt and uncover file after file.

At least I was occupied.

At about ten o'clock at night, the majority of the task force had left, save for Misa, Light, Ryuzaki, and myself.

I felt myself nodding off every now and then, struggling to keep my eyes open.

"Kaori-san." his voice cut through my train of thought. I turned my head to him, as he was sitting right next to me.

"Yeah...?" I asked, trying to sound awake.

"You're exhausted." He said, reaching to the bags under my eye, sweeping his fingers across them. I jerked backwards, falling out of my chair. He cocked his head at me as I sat up on the floor. "Go sleep. It's been a rough two days, I can assume." I nodded.

"Um, Ryuzaki, where should I go?" I asked. He looked at me dumbly.

"My suite, of course." My eyes widened considerably. "No, Kaori-san, I will not be sleeping tonight. I slept a few days ago." Oh of course, because that TOTALLY made sense.

"Whatever," I mumbled, numbly walking up the corridors to the room. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

* * *

"Everyone! Five hundred to loosen up then ten hundreds however you want to get prepared for today! Keep moving so we don't get lane jacked!" I shouted to the eight swimmers we had attending Junior Olympics. They jumped in, doing as told, and I headed to the coach's meeting, listening to the generic talk from the officials and host team. Sportsman-like conduct, keeps area safe and clean, the usual. We all nodded and handed in our entries and scratch sheets. We walked out into the blistering hot sun. It was July 23rd, so of course it was supposed to be hot.

But not THIS hot.

Our team had spread blankets out on the field adjacent to the pool.

Seeing the opportunity, I walked over to the unshaded stands where Ryuzaki, Light, and Misa were seated. Light and Misa were both wearing summer wear, Misa wearing a tank top and and mini-skirt and Light wearing a light, cotton polo shirt with the first few buttons undone and khaki slacks. Ryuzaki, of course, was wearing jeans and a long sleeved white shirt. The usual.

Even I was wearing khaki shorts and our team's polo, short sleeved shirt, and a visor, my transition glasses dark from the sun.

"Ryuzaki, you're going to die." I said pointedly.

"Of course I am, Kaori-san, as are you Light, Misa, everyone," Ryuzaki replied. I rolled my eyes.

"Just don't cry when you get heat stroke." I mumbled. He was going to swelter. The stands were unshaded, combine that with his attire and dark hair....

Oh god.

"Coach!" I spun around and saw Saori rush over to me, briefly looking at Light, Ryuzaki, and Misa. "Uh.... may I ask why those two guys are handcuffed together?" I then saw the chain in between Ryuzaki and Light and giggled slightly.

"I'll tell you when you're older," Saori's eyebrows raised and Light was struggling for words while Misa was cracking up. Ryuzaki, however, looked as calm as always.

**L's PoV**

It.

Was.

Hot.

I wracked my mind, trying to remember why I had this outfit. I had been wearing it for as long as I could remember, or rather, wanted to remember.

Was it boiling here? I really should check the temperature. This can't be healthy. They should just stop the meet or else everyone will get heat stroke. I bet we could have the police come here and....

Now I'm just rambling.

Misa and Light looked.... comfortable. Neither of them looked like they wanted to go jump into the pool currently being used.

My shirt was clinging to me, sweaty. Seeing it was doing me no good, I pulled the shirt over my head, letting it dangle on the chain of the handcuffs.

Misa and Light turned to me in concern.

"It's too hot out..." I mumbled, putting my head in my hands on my knees, the sun burning my back.

**Kaori's PoV**

Now it was Saori's best even, the 200 IM. She was so close to the Junior National cut, only off by two-tenths of a second.

She dove in, her start perfect. She was a strong flyer, not her best stroke, but it was good. She then turned into her backstroke, her strongest stroke and she was spot on. Then came the breaststroke, which she was too good in. She was exactly on pace. I was jumping up and down, screaming at her. Finally came the freestyle, her weakest stroke. But she had been working so, so hard on it. And then she finished.

She blew the cut away by over a second.

Finally after the four hour meet, our last swimmer swam. We picked up our stuff, disposing of our trash, and I walked over to Ryuzaki, Light, and Misa. Misa was asleep on Light's shoulders, who was too looking exhausted.

Ryuzaki looked..... interesting.

Bent over, Ryuzaki had his head in his hands.

And he was wearing no shirt.

He sat up slightly, still in his crouch and looked at me. Had I not been a swimmer, her shirtless-ness would have had me blushing like a schoolgirl. His baggy clothes disguised the lean, taut muscle in his abs and chest, his waist very narrow, the top of his boxers showing out of the top of his jeans.

"Going for a gangster look?" I teased slightly.

"Let's go." Ryuzaki jumped up and off the stands, pulling Light with him, jolting Misa awake.

"Oh my god, Ryuzaki!" I shouted.

His back, turned to me, was not the pale sheen it usually had.

Instead, it was BRIGHT red.

He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Ryuzaki, you got sunburned!"

* * *

Reviews=Love

Might have another chapter up tonight :)


	10. Selfish

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I do, however, own a used snowboard.

Random, I know.

* * *

**L's PoV**

Since when did sunburn sting this much.

It was so illogical, how could such damage occur to my skin in such a short amount of time? Four hours isn't that long of a time, and Misa and Light-kun didn't even turn slightly pink.

This was not fair. At all.

I was lying on my stomach on the couch of the lobby in the task force building, my shirt still off. Light-kun was standing by my side, trying not to laugh at the pitiful situation at hand. I saw Kaori-san talking to Watari, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. I saw Watari nod and the two walked over to us. Misa had long since gone home, to exhausted to walk. Kaori crouched down by my side.

"It hurts, no?" she smiled. I gave some unintelligible noise as a response, turning my head away from her. Yeah, the sunburn hurts. But that isn't what hurt me the most. I felt her slip her hand into my back pocket and I gasped in surprise, my head snapping to her.

She had the key in her hand.

She grabbed my cuffed hand, unlocking it, and placing it on Watari, and she bent down and whispered to me,

"Watari will look after Light." she grabbed my hand and pulled me up and I followed her, a bottle of green like gel in her hands. Her hand was covering the label, so I couldn't see what it was. Finally, we ended up back at my suite. She turned the light on, illuminating the room. She opened the bottle.

"Ryuzaki, lay on the bed on your stomach, please." She said. Dumbly, I complied, not really thinking why, more so of thinking _what _she was going to do, my head not thinking too clearly.

And then one spot on my back was both freezing cold and burning hot at the same time.

**Kaori's PoV**

The instant I put the aloe gel on Ryuzaki's back, he lept a foot in the air in shock.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled a bit as he winced in pain. "Ryuzaki, please stay still while I put this on. It'll make it feel better, I promise. This stuff works wonders." Dully, he nodded, turning back over onto his stomach. I squirted the green gel onto my hands and spread it on Ryuzaki's bony, red back. He shivered slightly, goosebumps raising. My hands worked up and down his back, making sure to get every sunburned spot.

"Mmmmmm" he murmured slightly, his eyes closed. I let out a laugh.

"Ryuzaki, are you purring?" I said as I traced my hands up and down.

"Perhaps so, Kaori-san," He mumbled. My hands traveled to the small of his back, feeling a raised line. A thin, white scar went across the width of his lower back.

"Ryuzaki, what's this?" I asked, my index finger tracing across.

**L's PoV**

That scar.... Brought back so many painful memories.

Should I tell her?

No, she doesn't need to know.

But, she told me about her drinking.

Would she understand? Would she think less of me? Then again, she doesn't think that highly of me right now. Questions flashed in my head, each one different, but all had the same root.

Would she prejudge me?

To hell with it.

I pushed myself up from the position I was laying in and sat crossed legged in front of Kaori, who was kneeling on the bed.

"Back when I was a mere toddler, before Watari found me....."

_I looked up at my mother, her eyes shining at me as I completed the puzzle in front of me. I knew we didn't have much money, even at three years old, I could sense it. But I never complained. I didn't want to upset my mother. I loved her too much._

"_That's the fastest puzzle I've ever seen!" she exclaimed, hugging me tightly, ruffling my hair. I held on to her tightly, not letting go. Suddenly, I heard a loud bang and saw a man stumbling in. My mother's eyes turned from love and adoration to hate and disdain. "Sweetie, please go to your room." I nodded and ran into my room. Soon after, I heard slurred shouting._

"_Listen baby, I can't leave, you know that?" the slurred voice, coming from my father, shouted. I cringed slightly._

"_Get the hell out of here now! We don't need you here!" I heard my mother, her voice normally soft and caring, shout. "We don't need an alcoholic drug addict here. We, no, I have a child to raise. A gifted, brilliant child. I want what's best for him, what's best for myself!" I heard a wicked, evil laugh._

"_Come on baby, that kid, he ain't nothing. You know that. He's a freak!" My father started laughing. "Really now, how did he happen? I'm the coolest guy in the WORLD, and you, you baby are amazing. How did we make such a little freak?" Tears welled up in my eyes. Not true, not true, I told myself over and over again. I'm special, that's what Mother told me. "Unless, of course, you CHEATED on me. Little whore!" His voice boomed and I heard my mother scream. Scared, I dashed out of my room into the living room, hiding behind the bookshelf. I saw my father raise a knife up in the air. _

"_Momma?" I whispered, scared. He swung down, knifing her across the head. Her scream was cut off as she dropped to the floor, blood pooling out of her head, her eyes rolled back into her head. "MOMMA!" I shouted, my father spying me._

"_There you are, you little bastard!" My father shouted, swinging the knife around wildly. I ran across the room as fast as I could, covering my head. Just as I reached the door, I felt a sharp pain in my lower back, and then it felt warm. I touched my hand to it, then covered with blood. I screamed as I exited the house, running as fast as I could, not knowing whether or not I was being followed._

_Finally, after I don't know how long, I collapsed in front of a middle aged man with a kind face._

**Kaori's PoV**

Ryuzaki looked down as he told the story, ashamed of it. I was speechless, I didn't know what to say.

"Ryuzaki.... I'm.... I'm so sorry you had to go through that," I said, not really sure what to say. He looked up at me, his face dead serious.

"Kaori," he said, leaving off the honorific. "I'm so sorry for what I did to you. I-" he stopped, looking down in shame. "I had a reason for leaving. You were the first, and only person I had ever slept with, had even had remote feeling for. And that's not something I'm used to. It was so out of the norm, bizarre, and a million different words. And how was I, the great detective L, supposed to stay focused on the task? Kaori, I had finished the case three _weeks_ before I left because I didn't want to leave you. I didn't even tell Watari I was done. I just... stayed. What was I to do? Tell you who I was? Expect you to follow me wherever I went, wherever my next case led me? You had, no, _have _such a bright future. Who was I to ask to to do such a thing? And even now, I keep you in the same building, same presence, as my top two suspects for my own, selfish reasons. Do you know what's it's like to live with that, knowing I'm putting the person I love in danger _everyday?"_

The words shook me to the core. Thousands of possibilities reared through my head, my eyes glazed over as I leaned against the headboard of the bed, my eyes wide.

"Kaori?" Ryuzaki asked, poking my cheek. "Did you hear me?"

For some stupid reason, I couldn't speak. All I could do was stare at him. Finally, one word bubbled to my lips.

"Ryuzaki...." I whispered, my tongue thick. Before either of us could say anything, I was crushed against the headboard, his lips at mine once again. It wasn't playful like the last one, this one had meaning, years of bottled up emotions and unsaid words behind it. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to his bare chest. I pulled back slightly, breathing the words,

"You were wrong, you kissed me first." I felt him smirk and weave his fingers in my hair as he said,

"I never said it was 100% certain." He pushed me down on the bed.

And something in me snapped.

Ice cold fear.

Harshly, I turned over, breaking the kiss, leaping off the bed, leaving Ryuzaki sprawled on the bed.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I can't." I stuttered, running out of the room.

* * *

Errr L might have been OOC.... please tell me if he was. I really did try to make him in character, but in a scene like, that, it's hard..

Reviews=Love, and you all want my love! And cookies, which I did make today.


	11. Empty

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I do, however, have to write the next six pages to my Biology project. Would anyone like to tell me what kind of fungi grow in the Taiga? Because I have NOT clue.

Sorry about not updating for awhile! School and swimming is starting to get the best of me, but I shall fight fire with fire!

* * *

**Kaori's PoV**

I kept running, going through door after door. Idiot, idiot, idiot! I screamed to myself. What the hell did I just do? My feet slapped the floor loudly, not caring in the least. Then, I burst through one door and was met by a warm burst of air. Stopping abruptly, I realized I was on the rood of the building. Stepping outside almost cautiously, I looked around. There was, well, nothing. It was vast, open. Welcoming. I walked towards the center and laid down on the gritty roof.

I looked up at the stars. Not looking for anything, just watching, and for some reason, my mind drifted back to ninth grade literature class.....

"_Now class, there is a LOT of symbolism in Romeo and Juliet." I sighed, sensing and in-class essay about the topic coming up some time in the near future. I played with my pencil in one hand, tapping the desk with the other, unable to sit still once again. "Romeo and Juliet use the stars to compare their love for each other in light and dark imagery, yes, but there is much more to it. The stars represent their fate, hence the name 'star-crossed lovers'." I rolled my eyes. Nothing and no one decides what I do, who I love, what I become. Shakespeare must have been an idiot._

Perhaps at the time I didn't fully understand what Shakespeare was trying to say. And slowly, this was beginning to become clearer and clearer as time went on, particularly in the past few days. About to close my eyes, I saw something shoot across the sky. A shooting star, I thought to myself. Quietly, I murmured the words, "I wish I could understand." Even with such a broad statement, I knew exactly what it entailed.

I shot awake with a jolt, surprisingly warm, not the cool I should be after sleeping outside. My eyes scanned the area and I determined my surroundings. Ryuzaki's suite, of course. I rolled my eyes, half smirking. The clock said it was almost midnight, but I was suddenly restless. Turning the light on, I discovered a half sheet of paper folded over with my name written on it. It read-

_Kaori-_

_Take as much time as you need_

_-Ryuzaki_

I wasn't sure whether to be mad or burst out laughing. I debated what to do. Do I ignore what he wrote and act as if nothing happened, or do I confront him? Finally, I settled on writing him back.

_Ryuzaki-_

_You do no know half of what happened. I may never be able to forgive you._

_-Kaori_

I knew it was mean, I knew it was harsh, but I had to do it. I couldn't let any of us get our hopes up on something we both knew could never happen, could never work. Walking over to the door, I slipped the not underneath the crack of the door. As I turned to walk away, the door opened, someone walking in. I spun around, startled.

It was Ryuzaki,

One side of me wanted to breath a sigh of relief that it was only Ryuzaki, while the other side of me had my heart beating wildly, hearing it in my ears, my breath caught in my throat.

"You... were you waiting?" I asked, slightly incredulous, not wanting him to know he had the upper hand.

"Of course." he shrugged his shoulders slightly, leaning against the door, hunched over, looking over the note.

"Your feelings are, how should I put this? Reasonable is a good word for it. I can understand why you are angry, and I had no right to do what I did, despite my justifications in doing so. I shall say this again, I am truly-"

"Ryuzaki!" I shouted, cutting him off.

"Am I allowed to-"

" I don't love you." I said sternly, looking him straight in the eyes. His eyes widened slightly in surprise. Slowly, cautiously, he nodded.

"I see. Well then, Kaori-san, I should go retrieve Light-kun form Watari. If you may excuse me," he said hustling out the door.

As I closed it behind him, I slid down, my back against the door. I pulled my knees up to my chest and covered my face with my hands and started sobbing silently.

**L's PoV**

I hurried out the door, not quite absorbing what she had said.

"_I don't love you......I don't love you......."_

The words burned, engraved in my mind. It was all I could think of. And it hurt. I'm not sure what was causing it. I had never felt this....pain? Emptiness? My chest felt hollow, my throat thick. I didn't like it, not one bit.

I leaned against the now closed door and slid down against it into my typical crouch. I put my hand into my large pockets and pulled out the unused note.

_I Love You_

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_  
_

Short but, err, dramatic? That was kinda what I was going for. I hope it worked.

Reviews= Love. Hugs, not drugs, people, come on now.

Hope everyone had a good 4/20 :)


	12. Flashdrive

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I am, however, registered for the Biology SAT Subject Test.

I must admit, I'm a little worried.

I'd like to take the chance to thank all of my reviewers and readers! 46 reviews and over 1,200 hits! Thank you so much, everyone! The reviews keep me going, let me tell you!

* * *

**Kaori's PoV**

I'm not sure how long I stayed leaned against the door. Hours, maybe. Finally, my silent sobs turned to a few stray, streaming tears. God, what am I doing to myself? Crying over some guy? I stood up and went into the bathroom, looking into the mirror.

My eyes were puffy, red. My face was also red, tear tracks marking my face. Turning the water to the coldest setting, I splashed my face multiple times. I dried my face with a towel and looked into the mirror again. Already better. I jumped up and down a few times, getting my blood flowing, waking myself up.

Things will get better. I'll get over this, I promised myself.

I'll focus all my energy into the case, using the best of my abilities, I'll get revenge against Kira.

And I'll forget everything that happened with Ryuzaki.

After realizing the time, almost seven in the morning, I decided to head downstairs to get an early start on the case. No one else should be here yet, and Light and Ryuzaki should be asleep.

Walking into the large room, I saw Light asleep in a chair, looking at ease.

However, Ryuzaki was wide awake, typing away at the computer.

Hesitantly at first, I walked over to my computer, which was beside Ryuzaki, of course. My hands flew to the keyboard, quickly entering my ID.

"I believe the case has something to do with the company Yotsuba. Aproximatley a week ago, Matsuda, ahem, _stumbled _upon a meeting of theirs, giving away detail that they know one of them is Kira, but not sure which one is," Ryuzaki said in a hushed, cold, empty, professional, whisper. Somehow, the bluntness of the words chilled me.

"If only we knew...." I mumbled slightly, not taking my eyes off the screen, not looking at him. I refused to.

"Hn." Was Ryuzaki's response. I opened the files that Ryuzaki had sent me, decrypting them. Suddenly, we heard someone burst through the door.

"LIGHT-KUN! RYUZAKI-KUN!" I spun around, nearly falling over to see Misa charging in. Light quite literally fell out of the chair, startled by the sudden awakening. Misa rushed over to him. "Light-kun! Are you ok?!" Misa shouted, helping him up as Ryuzaki rubbed his pulled shoulders as a result of Light's fall.

"I'm fine, Misa. What is it?" Light asked. Reaching into her bag, Misa pulled out a phone and hit play.

And we were astounded.

* * *

By eight, everyone was in the building and had heard the message.

Somehow, one way or another, Misa had managed to figure out how to get the head of Yotsuba, Higuchi, to admit to being Kira.

No Ryuzaki, no Light.

I was astounded.

Misa didn't seem.... to with it. But somehow she was able to do this.

"Misa-Misa! That's amazing!" Matsuda shouted in surprise and astonishment. Ryuzaki bit his thumb.

"Very good, Misa. However, we need more concrete proof than this..." Ryuzaki trailed off. "His office, perhaps, would have information regarding the case. However, accessing it would be difficult...."

"Ryuzaki," I said, looking down. "How strict are you to the law?"

All heads shot to me.

"Hm? Kaori-san? What do you have in mind?" Ryuzaki folded his hands together, resting his chin on them.

"Perhaps someone could break into his office, look through some stuff, get take some data from his computer onto a flash drive" I said slowly. Ryuzaki cocked his head to the side.

"Interesting idea, Kaori-san. However, how many of us would be able to work past encryptions, security, and such?" Ryuzaki inquired, trying to find flaws. I glared at him hard.

"I could."

* * *

"Every thing's in place, Kaori-san." Ryuzaki's voice chimed in my ear, the ear piece fitted to my ear perfectly. It had been a week since we put together the plan. Ryuzaki had cameras set up on every corner near the Yotsuba headquarters. Mogi was driving the car to leave me in the back of a building about three blocks away from the headquarters, and Ryuzaki had eyes on every corner. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" I grimaced slightly.

"I'm sure, Ryuzaki." I growled into the mic on my all dark outfit. I was wearing skin tight running pants and running shirt, all black, including the top of the line running sneakers, a tracking chip implanted in the sole. And to top it all off, I had been given a black mask, in case Kira himself was there. Finally, the car stopped.

"Kaori-san." Ryuzaki said, annoying me.

"What?" I hissed in annoyance.

"I want you to know that there is a chance that you won't come out of this alive." The words cold.

"I know." I sighed. I mumbled a thanks to Mogi.

"Just.... be careful." Ryuzaki mumbled.

"Of course..." I trailed off, leaving the car behind as I started my brisk jog to the company headquarters.

Despite the multiple cameras, I had never felt more alone, everything silent. I would ask Ryuzaki to talk, but, well, I don't think that's the type of thing I need right now.....

This week had been tough enough.

I worked, ate, went to bed.

Didn't speak to Ryuzaki more than necessary.

It was, well.

Awkward.

Sometimes, though, out of the corner of my eye, I would catch his large, gray-orbed eyes staring at me, just for the briefest second. But what I saw in his eyes was what hurt the most.

Sadness, emptiness.

He would never do this to me, I told my said, but then shook the thought. He DID do that to me. He hurt me that badly, he couldn't even begin to understand.

He HAD to hurt as bad as I did, that was my only explanation for it.

"Kaori-san..." Ryuzaki's voice cut through my thoughts, making me jump.

"W-what?" I stuttered, slowing my pace a bit.

"You're running quite quickly and were mumbling to yourself about 'hurting more than me'. Care to explain?" My breath caught.

"Nope." I spat. Ok, perhaps I was still being a BIT bitter to him.

Alright, maybe a lot.

Finally, I reached the company.

"Ok, Kaori-san. There should be a fire escape leading up to the sixth floor." I glanced around and located the series of ladders, which was raised quite a bit off the ground. I had to basically do a pull-up to get my foot on the first rung. "Very good..." he mumbled as I bit my lip, climbing the many stairs. Finally, I reached the top of the stairs.

"Ok, now what?" I asked in a whisper.

"First, I want you to reach into the crate to your left." I glanced to the left and saw a large box and opened it, reaching in, gapping at the object inside.

"Ryuzaki!" I hissed in anger. "I don't need it!" I growled down at the gun.

"Please, Kaori-san. I need you to stay safe." his voice was pleading. Why? Why did he care so much? I exhaled sharply and grabbed the gun, placing it in the waistband of my running pants. "Thank you, Kaori."

"Yup." I spat.

"Now, look at the window right above you. You'll need to grab the ledge and hoist yourself us." I complied, following his orders. I put my ankle onto the ledge, peering into the building. "Now, Kaori-san, there should be a key right under you hand. Unlock the window." Doing as he said, I entered the room, my body sliding through the window from as I shut the window. I was about to take a step forward and-

"DON'T MOVE" Ryuzaki all but shouted, causing me to stumble forward. Suddenly, and alarm rang.

"Shit!" I shouted. Motion detectors.

"Kaori, get out of there, now!" Ryuzaki shouted into my ear. I glanced around the room and spied a computer on the desk. Rushing forward, I turned it on quickly. "Kaori, what are you doing? The tracking device must be broken, because it says you're still in the room." Ryuzaki said hurriedly. The computer booted up in seconds and my hands flew across the keyboard, bypassing security codes one after another, all second nature to me. I pulled the flash drive the was dangling around my neck off and into the computer's USB port. "Kaori? Please, say something. Let me know you are still there."

"I... I can get something." I said, breathing heavily. The alarm sounding loudly in the background, but I tuned it out. Concentrate... I told myself.

"Kaori! It's not worth it! We can leave the data for another day, we need you back here alive!" Ryuzaki spat. Never had I heard him so hash.

Copy this, transfer that.

"Almost done...." I mumbled.

"Kaori, they're right outside!" 95%,96%,97%....

And then the door was kicked in.

* * *

Should have another chap up tonight!

Reviews=Love, you know the deal :)


	13. Electrolytes

DISCLAMIER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I do, however, own an iTouch. It's my friend. :)

Two chapters. God I must really love you guys.....

* * *

**Kaori's PoV**

Oh shit.....

"Put your hands up and step away from the computer!" A man in a security outfit yelled. Cocking my head to the side, I slowly put my hands in the air, the mask covering my face. I kept an eye on the screen. 98%....

"What's the problem, sir? I was merely.... investigating." I said slowly, calmly. I heard a slamming on the other end of the ear piece.

"Kaori...." Ryuzaki growled dangerously.

99%.....

"You are committing a federal crime, breaking into a company leaders files nonetheless!" The guard shouted, pointing his gun at me.

100%.

Swiftly, I grabbed the gun, pointing it at the three guards and shot three rounds at the ground near their feet, causing them to start to fire. Ducking down beneath the desk, I pulled out the flash drive and clenched it in my fist and charged the desk forward, having it topple forward, hitting the guards. I ran back to the window and shot the glass, shattering it. I climbed out the window, getting scratched by the stray glass, but ignoring it, and ran down the six story escape route. I jumped down the last later, falling over slightly.

"Kaori, RUN." Ryuzaki commanded and I obliged, hearing more guards at my feet. And barking. Dogs! I thought in a panic as I started turning at random streets, not really sure where I was going.

**L's PoV**

I glared at the screens, Kaori being pursued every which way. She would be cornered, caught, tortured, killed.

My hands came down hard on the desk in front of me in frustration, making them sting, the headpiece I wore falling slightly.

"L..." Light whispered. No... I could not lose my cool. Not here, not now. I had to give her an escape.

"Kaori, take a left, then a right up her. Quick turns, unexpected." I could only hear her labored breathing on the other end. Why was she so insolent? Staying and getting the data? Was she insane!? In the corner screen, I saw a cop car rounding the corner I was sending her to. "No, take a right, not a left up here." I commanded. I looked at the tracking device. She was running slower, her pace dropping.

"Come on. Kaori, come on! I know you can run faster than that! Are you going to let these men capture you? I know you can beat them!" I shouted into the mic. I bit my thumb hard, glaring at the screen, my toes curled in anticipation.

**Kaori's PoV**

_I know you can beat them...._ My legs ached, it was hard to breath, but I kept running. The words gave me a boost of adrenaline. My legs taking long strides, following Ryuzaki's direction, no matter how sudden they were. More distance between me and them, the better, I told myself. This power, this high you get from harsh, demanding activity, when had I last felt it? How many miles had I run? Five, maybe six? All I knew was that I had been running circles through the city for nearly half an hour.

"Almost there Kaori, I promise." Ryuzaki encouraged, keeping me going. I hadn't had the strength to speak to him. Getting air to breath took priority. But he kept talking, coaching me through this. I kept sprinting through the city. "About half a mile ahead, there will be a black car with the license plate ESD456. Get in the back seat." Half a mile, just half a mile. I could do that in my sleep. I pounded the pavement and saw the black car coming into view. The sounds of police cars, gun shots, and dogs had faded. Finally, I reached the car, throwing the door open and throwing myself across the backseat, slamming the door. I felt the car begin to drive, the driver being Matsuda. I was lying on my back, breathing heavily, trying to get air into my system. My throat burned, I was covered in a layer of sweat. I pulled off the mask, making it a little better. I was breathing so hard....

"Kaori-chan, you're going to hyperventilate!" Matsuda shouted as I started to get tunnel vision. Too late....

* * *

I wasn't sure how much later it was, but I felt strong, familiar arms around me, carrying me. I was chilly, my shirt had ridden up slightly, making me cold. But on my right was a source of warmth, and I pressed my body to the heat, not caring, to exhausted to do any more as I slipped back into unconsciousness, my hand still clenched tightly.

* * *

I shot up, but was stopped by the sudden pain in my side and I leaned back against the plush couch of the main room of the investigation headquarters. Everyone was standing around me.

"Kaori-san." I looked at the person, Ryuzaki, who called my name.

"Mm?" I mumbled, still half asleep, my throat burning.

"What you did was idiotic, dangerous, deadly, inconceivable, and plain stupidity." Ryuzaki said sternly, glaring at me. "I told you to stay safe. I told you before you even left to, at the first sign of trouble, get out of there as soon as possible. How am I to trust you on the team?" Ryuzaki's voice was dangerously low, angry. "More however, I told you to be CAREFUL. And you completely disregarded me!"

Now I was angry.

"I 'disregarded' you because I knew I could get the data!" I shouted, my throat searing.

"And you didn't even do that." Ryuzaki said, turning away from me. Finally, I pulled my arm back and launched the flash drive at Ryuzaki, hitting him square in the head.

"And you're calling me dumb! I got ALL the data from his computer onto that flash drive! And I do NOT take orders from you!" I screamed, enraged. All the task force except Ryuzaki took a step back, alarmed at my sudden outburst. Ryuzaki leaned over and picked up the flash drive and looked over it.

"Well then, I should get to work on this, then." Ryuzaki stated, walking over to the computer. Furious, I stood up, only to collapse into the couch once again. "Someone please get her something with electrolytes, she needs them." Ryuzaki said, turning to the computer and began typing away.

* * *

AND DONE.

Short-ish, but it had to be done.

Review=Love, you know the deal.


	14. Nationals

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I have, however, used up all 40 hours of Pandora Radio for this month :'(

It made me sad.

We hit 50 Reviews!

SUCCESS!

* * *

**L's PoV**

I shifted through all the data. Yes, here it was, all of the contents of Higuchi's computer, right before me. The web history, spreadsheets, hell, even lists of people who have died since Light and Misa were incarcerated.

All too perfect, everything falling right into place.

Except, well, her, of course.

It was five in the morning. Light was asleep in the chair to my left, the rest of the task force had gone home. Except Kaori-san.

She was lying on the couch, not having moved from the spot. Too entirely worn out, both physically and mentally. I wracked my memory, trying to remember when I had seen her this exhausted and came across one, peculiar memory.

_Twenty after four...... twenty minutes later than usual, I thought to myself. Kaori-san was never late in the past month I had been tutoring her. Her practice ended at three-thirty, giving her time to walk here. I had taken the liberty to order her hot chocolate, which was now beginning to cool. Suddenly, I heard someone rush in and shuffle to the booth I was sitting at._

_And there was Kaori._

_She was still wearing her suit, a blue star print, only a pair of shorts on over it. She thumped down into the seat opposite me and threw her arms on the table, resting her head on them, hiding her face._

"_Not a good day?" I asked, taking a piece of the cake and putting it in my mouth. She lifted her head up so she could look at me._

"_No, my coach made me do repeat sprints until I went under a certain time, and he didn't let me leave until I did, hence why I'm late, my back and shoulders are killing me, I have six hours of homework tonight, my dad just moved out this morning, saying he couldn't take my mom, the younger swimmers on the team aren't listening to the coaches, and my boyfriend, or rather, ex-boyfriend, is a douche. Oh, and I'm on my period. Fantastic, right?" She put her forehead back on her arms in frustration. _

_Oh._

_Well then._

"_What do you want?" I asked her slowly, unsure of what to say._

"_Midol," was her quick response. I cocked my head to the side slightly._

"_I apologize, Kaori-san,, but in case you haven't noticed, I am in fact male, thus, I have no need to carry such medication." She lifted her head up and glared at me, giving me the reaction I wanted. I took the fork and put some cake on it, putting it in front of her face. Staring at it for a second, she obligingly opened her mouth and ate the cake. I could see bags forming under her eyes. "Let's go for a walk." I stood up, leaving money to cover the bill and tip on the table. Pulling herself up, she followed me out. _

"_Where are we going?" she asked, jogging slightly to catch up to me._

"_Tell me, Kaori-san, what happened with your parents?" Her eyes fell slightly. _

"_My parents... fight a lot. Both of them drink, so they argue about being drunk, they argue while BEING drunk. And they fight about money, too. I have no college fund." She looked down at her feet. "My dad said he couldn't take the stress there anymore, so he left. Thank God I'm only here a few more months." I could, to a degree, understand. Suddenly, she smiled. "Alright, Ryuzaki, I have a question for you." I looked at her pointedly. "When you speak in English, or even Japanese, you have an... interesting accent." _

"_I spent most of my childhood in England." I said dully, looking ahead. She made a slight 'oh'. Suddenly, a car pulled up beside us. In the drivers seat was a familiar male classmate, wearing a baseball cap backwards and a cigarette between his teeth._

"_Baby-chan!" The man called, looking right at Kaori, who glared at him._

"_Haru, I don't wish to be around you," she hissed from between clenched teeth. The man opened the door, getting out of the car and stepping towards her. _

_Then it clicked._

_This was the man who I saw nearly molesting her everyday in the hallways._

_Anger bubbled inside me, but I kept my composure. _

"_Come on, hun! I know we've hit our rough patches, but come on! You know you'll always come back to me," he said, stepping forward, lifting her chin with his finger, burning her chin with the cigarette, and she cried out in pain, jumping back._

"_Haru!" she shouted, but he took another step forward. I stepped between the two, staring at Haru. He was tall, muscular, bigger than I was. He stared down at me, acknowledging me for the first time._

"_She said to leave her alone." I said slowly, coolly. He blinked a few times and started to laugh._

"_Ha! Excuse me? I'm her boyfriend, freak. So I'm telling you to leave her alone, got it?" he sneered._

"_I don't think so." In frustration, Haru put his lit cigarette to my shirt, burning a hole through it and, in essence, burning me. I flinched slightly at the pain._

"_Haru! Back off! I am NOT your girlfriend!" Kaori shouted, stepping forward, shoving him. "Ryuzaki didn't do anything!" Haru looked past her, glaring at me as I rubbed away the pain in my chest. _

"_You listen up, freak, I see you EVERYDAY staring at her with moon eyes. Well let me tell you something, I'm the only one who can do anything with her, remember-" he shouted but was then cut off as Kaori hit him square in the face. _

"_GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" she shouted as he rubbed at his lip, which was now bleeding. _

"_You'll regret this, both of you!" Haru shouted, getting into his car and driving off. Taking a deep breath, Kaori rushed over to me._

"_Are you ok?" she asked, looking at the burn. _

"_I'm fine." I said. Haru's earlier words leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I needed more cake. _

_We continued walking a bit in complete silence before Kaori spoke up._

"_Ryuzaki, I never slept with him." My head snapped to her. "He likes to make it seem like I did, but I never did. I'm still a virgin." _

"_As am I." I replied, shrugging my shoulders._

"_Is that suppose to be shocking?" she looked at me, her eyes playful. _

"_Perhaps it should be," I pondered slightly and she giggled. "What?" I asked._

"_Ryuzaki, I'm sorry to say this, but really! I.... I just can't see anyone dating you, let alone having sex with you!" She laughed a bit more and I looked at the sidewalk, slightly embarrassed _

"_Would Kaori-san believe me if I said I never kissed anyone?" I said quietly to the sidewalk. Apparently, she heard me and stopped._

"_What?!" she cried out slightly, an appalled look on her face. _

"_You heard me...." I mumbled. Suddenly, she stepped up to me quickly and grabbed my face, pressing her lips to mine for less than half a second before pulling back._

_I stood there, speechless, dumbfounded. _

"_Holy Jesus, Ryuzaki! Your face is really red!" Kaori said, laughing._

"_What was that for...?" I asked slowly, my mind still processing what had happened._

"_I felt bad! And I figured why not a friend then a complete stranger? You're what, seventeen, eighteen? It's ok to kiss if you're single, it's not like it meant anything, anyway." Kaori shrugged. I nodded slowly. "I should get going..." she said, giving me a slight wave before turning on her heels to leave. _

_It was suppose to mean nothing, just a quick, meaningless kiss between two friends._

_But why was all I could think about the feeling of her lips on mine?_

I furrowed my eyebrows at the memory. Suddenly, I saw her begin to shuffle on the couch as she sat up, looking around the room. Her hair was sticking out every which way. Her eyes finally found mine as she sleepily stood up, stretching.

"Ryuzaki..." she mumbled sleepily.

"Yes?" I asked. Apparently in her half-woken state she didn't remember that we hardly spoke.

"Junior Nationals are this weekend... I have to coach..." she muttered. It was... cute. Her eyelids still half closed, her hair frumpy. I smiled slightly.

"Ok, Kaori-san. Don't worry about it." I assured her.

"Mmmm" she muttered something incoherent before falling back to sleep. Why was it so hard for me to let go of her? She said she doesn't love me, what am I to do now? I can't forget what happened, my... desire, wanting, my _love _for her is still there. I could plot where a criminal was going to strike next, I could set a trap for anyone to fall into, and for Christ's sake, I could outsmart damn near everyone on the planet.

But I couldn't figure out anything about her.

And I came to one conclusion.

If not Kira, Kaori will most defiantly be the death of me.

* * *

**Kaori's PoV**

"Everyone! In the water for warm-up!" I shouted to the five swimmers we had attending. They proceeded to the pool, doing as we told them. Kino stood to my side. I told him I wouldn't be able to coach for some personal issues for awhile, but I told him I'd attend the meets in an effort to help. He didn't complain.

"Can you get to heat sheet?" he asked and I nodded, heading towards the office.

We were in Hiroshima. I hadn't been here since I had graduated, but it all looked so familiar. The meet was outdoors, taking advantage of the summer air. It wasn't nearly as hot as Junior Olympics, but I still wore shorts and a teeshirt, my hair pulled back in a ponytail. Picking up the heat sheet, I walked back to Kino the long way, going past the stands Misa, Light, and Ryuzaki occupied. I glanced up at Ryuzaki.

"No sunburn, ok?" I asked sharply. He nodded.

"Kaori-chan!"

I spun around, seeing a familiar head of long brown hair.

My best-friend, my co-captain in high school, I had forgotten would be there, coaching her own team, as she had never left Hiroshima.

"Nikita-chan!" I shouted in surprise. She jogged over to me, beaming. But her expression changed when she looked past me seeing who I was talking to.

She was glaring at Ryuzaki.

Oh shit....

* * *

DONE!

3 chapters in less than 24 hours.

WHAT A CHAMP

Reviews=Love

LETS BREAK 60!!!


	15. Test

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I do, however, have shooting pains in my knee.

Stupid lunges/squat jumps.

They shall be the death of me.

On another note, I am currently in the process of DEBATING whether or not I should write a prequel to this story once I'm done. You know, the tutoring sessions, some stuff that wasn't mentioned in this story. Tell me what you think.

Also, THIS IS OFFICIALLY MY LONGEST STORY! Surpassing my previous Prince of Tennis story, "You Are From Where?". I've been writing that one for two years. This one? Barely two weeks.

SUCCESS!

* * *

**Kaori's PoV**

"So, um, Nikita-chan! How have you been!" I shouted, stepping in front of her, blocking her view of Ryuzaki. She merely stepped to the side, still glaring, her mouth wide. Slowly, she started forming words.

"Kaori-chan... it's only been, what? A week since we last saw each other? When did you stumble upon this douche again?" she hissed. I knew I had a bad temper, but Nikita's was just as bad, if not worse. And her feelings were justified.

"Nikita-chan... Please, can this wait till later?" I pleaded, knowing I had to not only work, but to process what the HELL I was going to do about her. Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, she nodded, walking away, but dragging me with her. "Hey!" I shouted, pulling slightly as we left Ryuzaki's line of sight.

Too bad she didn't know I had to wear I microphone the whole time, which had a feed directly into Ryuzaki's ear.

"What the HELL are you thinking?! For Christ's sake, what the fuck happened?! How did you find him!" Nikita hissed in my ear, pulling me to her. I sighed.

"Nikita-chan... it's not that simple." I stated, looking down.

"You KNOW what he did to you. You were scared shitless for such a long time, not knowing what to do because of it! Does he even know?!" The words shook me.

No, he didn't. Nor did I have any intention of telling him.

"I want to speak with him." Nikita said.

Wait, what?

I knew there was no way of getting out of this.

He was going to find out sooner or later.

I sighed.

"Meet me by the entrance at the end of the meet, when everyone is gone."

**L's PoV**

"_Does he even know?!" _

Do I even know what?

My mind tried wrapping around the information. Something I didn't know? But something I caused, I can assume. This wasn't working out too well for me, not at all.

Why was she scared? Did she get hurt? Oh God, did I hurt her(not in the mental way I did, physically.)? I bit my thumb, shifting through theory after theory.

I looked at the pool. They were still warming up. The meet was scheduled to end at eight tonight. It was only ten in the morning.

It's going to be a long wait...

* * *

**Kaori's PoV**

I paced back an forth at the entrance, waiting for Nikita.

All of our swimmers swam very well, all getting personal bests. Even Saori, who's first time at this meet, came back for consultation finals tonight. Ryuzaki seemed uneasy, and Light just looked annoyed. Misa was sitting on the ledge to the entrance, kicking her feet back and forth. Finally, in the distance, I saw Nikita approaching us.

I had known her for over twenty years.

And even now, the look on her face scared me as she stomped up to Ryuzaki, looking him square in the eye.

"You do not have the right to be near her." she growled, clenching her fists.

"I can understand why you have anger directed towards me. However, this is a matter between Kaori and myself." Ryuzaki replied dully.

"Do you know what the hell you did to her?! What she had to go through? She was scared to death for months!" Nikita screamed, taking a step forward. Ok, this was going to far.

"Nikita..." I mumbled softly, pulling her back slightly by her shoulders. Ryuzaki stood silent, staring at the ground. Finally, he spoke up.

"Nikita-san, what may it be that I did so wrong to her, besides leaving so.... abruptly?"

Abrupt...

That was one way to put it.

"You really want to know? Two weeks after you left..." Nikita began to speak, sending chills throughout my body as my mind flash backed to that day....

_I stepped into the locker room, my head pounding slightly._

_Four days late._

_Four days, It's been more than that before._

_But before I was a virgin._

_I shook my head. No, it's because we've been working so hard and my body's beginning to take a toll. That's all. We haven't started tapering yet, all the big meets were months away. Coach decided to have us cranking out massive yardage, so of course my body would feel like this and have this effect._

_It's happened before, I repeated in my head._

_Then Nikita walked in._

"_Hey Kaori-chan." Nikita smiled, but then saw my shaken appearance. "What's wrong?" _

_I smiled slightly, a strained smile. "Nothing, Nikita-chan, just tired. You know, the usual." Apparently, she wasn't buying this._

"_Kaori-chan, I've known you almost my whole life. By now you'd think I'd realize that you are a TERRIBLE liar." She crossed her arms over her chest. I sighed and looked around the locker room, making sure we were the only ones in there._

"_I'm... a little late, that's all." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "It's happened before. It's just because of all the hard work, I'm not worried, so you shouldn't either."_

"_Bullshit you're not worried." Nikita spat. I took a deep breath._

"_Look, there's nothing to worry about." I repeated myself._

"_Well if there's nothing wrong, why don't you take a pregnancy test?" I recoiled slightly at the words._

"_There is no need for that!" my voice raising higher than usual. She continued to glare at me. _

"_Well did you use any-"_

"_No." I cut her off. "I don't have any, and Ryuzaki isn't the kind of person who would need to carry that stuff around." She closed her eyes and leaned the back of her head against the lockers._

"_Dammit, Kaori...." she muttered. "Did you ever pay attention in Health?"_

_And one month turned to two, and two to three._

_Three months late? That was pushing it._

_Finally, one Saturday when my mom was at work, Nikita came to my door, a paper bag in her hand. _

"_Now." She said firmly._

_About ten minutes later, we both stood in the living room, watching the pregnancy test registrar._

_One minute left, thirty seconds left, fifteen seconds left....._

_Done._

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_

Teeheehee, cliffy much?

Reviews=Love, that whole deal. You know you love it =)


	16. Square One

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I do, however, own the idea of a prequel to this story.

Still contemplating, although I'm 85% sure I'll write it.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If I DO write the prequel, scenes will be written from the other character's PoV(e.x. The English For Dummies scene would be shown from Kaori's PoV, etc.).

Tell me what you think!

Over 2,000 hits! I love you guys!

* * *

**L's PoV**

Pregnant....?

Did I get her... pregnant?

I tried to think around it, trying to disprove it in anyway possible, that it was impossible for this to happen. We had no methods of protection at the time, and I assumed she was not taking birth control.

Of course, I ignored this.

Damn teenage hormones.

I was crouching, my hands on my knees, my fingernails digging into them as I waited for Nikita's next statement, telling me what happened, telling me the results.

"The test was negative."

**Kaori's PoV**

My hands were balled up in fists.

"Although slightly abnormal, this kind of thing can happen with swimmers, especially one like her." Nikita explained. She continued talking at a normal level, but I ignored her. I was looking down at the pavement, examining it closely for God knows what.

Suddenly, Ryuzaki spoke up. Unfortunately, I was not paying attention, so I had no idea what he said.

"YOU JERK!" Nikita shouted, running up to Ryuzaki, getting close to his face. Light looked mildly concerned while Misa was backing up from the whole scene.

My head snapped to the current situation.

"All I said was that she is better off that I left." Ryuzaki said, as calm as ever.

"Yeah you wish! You should have seen her! I have NEVER seen her like that! And she was scared to death for three months! How-"

"HOW ABOUT WE STOP TALKING ABOUT ME LIKE I'M NOT HERE?!" I shouted, everyone turning to look at me like I had just appeared out of thin air. Spinning on my heels, I stormed off to the car I had brought all four of us in, put the key in, and drove off, leaving the rest of them behind.

* * *

I don't know which direction I was going, all I know is that I kept driving.

"Kaori-san..." I heard a whisper come from the mic on my shirt. Enraged, I opened the window, grabbed the mic off of my shirt, and chucked it out the window, leaving it behind on the long highway.

I had been driving for hours, trying to get my pulse under control, trying not to break anything. Suddenly, a voice entered the car.

"Kaori-san," said Ryuazki's voice, echoing through the car. Surprised and alarmed, I swerved slightly in the lane.

"Holy shit, Ryuzaki!" I shouted, trying to ignore the fact that it just felt like my heart was in my throat.

"Kaori-san, I suggest you return to headquarters. It would be unwise for you to do otherwise." Ryuzaki's calm voice said throughout the car, coming from the GPS.

"Why?" I spat.

"Well, in case you have yet to notice, you live here and work here, at least for now." I blew my bangs out of my face.

"How did you get back?" I asked, more calm now.

"Watari, of course." Sound enough explanation for me.

"Ryuzaki, it's going to take me almost all night to drive back," I pouted slightly.

"Don't pout. Just do it." My heart skipped a beat.

"You... you have a camera in this car, don't you?" I asked, my eyes becoming slits.

"Of course."

It was going to be a long drive.

* * *

Finally, I arrived back at the headquarters at about three in the morning. Surprisingly enough, I was not tired. I stepped through the main entrance after entering the needed passwords, eye scans, the usual. Upon walking in, I saw Ryuzaki perched upon the coach, Light asleep at his side.

"Is it really necessary?" I whispered, glancing at Light's handsome face. I would be lying if I said he wasn't good looking. He looked like the typical, posh, intelligent student I assumed he was. There was no way he could be Kira. He just seemed so.... innocent. There is no way a man, no, he was still a boy, could be capable of something like mass murder.

The murder of my father.

"All precautions are necessary if.... Kaori-san? Is something wrong?" I looked up from Light and realized the body language I must have been giving off. My jaw was clenched, as were my fists, my arms crossed over my chest, my eyebrows knitted together. I let my whole body relax.

"Nothing, nothing at all." I whispered quickly. Suddenly, Ryuzaki stood up and walked right up to me, his face inches from mine,. Even slouched over, he was still quite a bit taller then me, his chin would easily go over the top of my head. His breath was sweet, with a hint of coffee. How long had it been since I noticed these things.

_Eight years...._

The words whispered through my head and I shivered slightly, my face turning red. Ryuzaki cocked his head to the side as he put the back of his hand to my forehead with his unchained hand, as there was not enough slack in the other.

"Fever?" he asked, moving his hand to my cheeks, feeling them too. "No... sunburn?" Ryuzaki muttered to his self. His hand was nice and cool, it felt refreshing against my hot skin and my eyes started to flutter closed. I felt him move his hand to the back of my neck. "Hmmm" he murmured. Suddenly, his hand slid down the back of my shirt, stopping right above the clasp of my bra. This woke me up in an instant as I jumped back away from him, forcing his hand away. I was breathing heavy. What the heck was I doing?

"Ryuzaki...." I growled dangerously.

"I was merely checking your temperature." He shrugged. I continued to glare at him.

"Just... please... don't make this hard for me...." I mumbled slightly. Ryuzaki gave me a quizzical look.

"Hm?" He asked, slightly amused.

"Ryuzaki, you know." I hissed, not in the mood for games.

"No, I have no idea what you are talking about, Kaori-san." Ryuzaki smirked. "Enlighten me." I took a deep breath.

"I told you, I do NOT have any feelings for you." I spat through my clenched teeth. Ryuzaki thought about this for a second and then took three long steps forward so he was now looking right down at me and I had to lift my head to look at him, my face turning red at the sudden closeness. _God dammit... _I hissed to myself. I'm not schoolgirl!

"I, for one, think you are lying." My jaw dropped.

"W-what?!" I exclaimed, quite loudly, so much so that Light started to stir. Ryuzaki and I shot quick glances at him, making sure he was still asleep. Then, we turned back to each other.

"Kaori-san, I do not believe you are hard of hearing." Ryuzaki commented.

"I did not lie!" I hissed.

"Well, for starters, if you were lying, would your face turn so red when I did this?" Ryuzaki placed his hand on my cheek, pulling me too him. In my mind, I really did tell myself to pull away from him, but somehow, my body wouldn't allow it. When his lips were half an inch from mine, he stopped, leaned back, and smirked, his hand dropping to his side. "And you also would have pulled away, hit me, or some other physical harm if you were truly lying."

I stood like a statue.

I spun on my heels, not knowing what to say. As the saying goes, the best offense is a good defense.

"Kaori-san," I stood still, not turning around. "I don't want you to leave." I turned around and stared at him, long and hard.

"I didn't want you to leave either, and look where we are now?" I growled. "Back to square one, Ryuzaki."

* * *

DONE.

Reviews=Love, the whole shebang.


	17. Coward

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I did, however, score a 590 on my practice Bio SAT. FAIL.

I need, like, 780+.

Sorry for not updating in a few days! School, once again, takes over, as well as practice. My coach has this odd theory that we'll only get better if we actually show up, who knew?

**L's PoV**

I stared at the area that was once Kaori.

"_I didn't want you to leave either, and look where we are now?" _

I bit my thumb, leaning against the back of the couch.

_"Back to square one, Ryuzaki." _

Stubborn, why in the world was she so stubborn? I try to make things work for us, and I have no idea why. Why do I work so hard for someone like her?

She's rash, cynical, stubborn, overly competitive, has problems with nearly EVERYTHING, is violent the majority of the time, and always has a faint hint of chlorine.

So why? Why would I fight for someone like her?

Then I realized it, the things finally clicking together.

She dives into things with the full intention of doing it right the first time, she sticks for what she believe in, she hates to lose, she's extraordinarily determined, her sarcasm and wit amaze me....

Her flaws make her who she is.

Her flaws are what makes me love her.

**Kaori's PoV**

I rolled over in Ryuzaki's large bed(I had still yet to be given a room, which, surprisingly enough, did not bother me.). My phone was flashing, showing me the missed message from Nikita.

_Kaori- Please call me. I'm really sorry about yesterday. _

I sighed. I'd call her back later. Right now, I had to figure out how to react downstairs.

Ryuzaki and I had been able to mask most of this from the rest of the Task Force. Although, every now and then they would give me an awkward glance. I wonder how much Ryuzaki told them. Hopefully not much....

I leaped off the bed when I heard a knock at the door. Only in a pair of boy-shorts underwear and a tight-fitting tank top, I answered the door, to none other than Ryuzaki and Light.

Ryuzaki's eyes widened a little bit and looked me up and down. I groaned, rolled my eyes, and started to close the door, only to have Ryuzaki put his foot in the way.

"Kaori-san, I need to retrieve something from this room." Ryuzaki said, walking in, not giving me a second glance, Light striding in after him, looking at the floor. I walked over to the bed, reaching underneath, grabbing the suitcase I had packed the day of Junior Olympics. Misa had been so kind to convince Ryuzaki to let me go to the house to grab some of my belongings, such as clothes.

I dashed into the bathroom, both clothing and brushing my teeth and hair. I stepped out of the bathroom, my hair pulled back in it's usual ponytail, wearing simple, fitted, black jeans and a thin, cotton, white teeshirt. Ryuzaki was still staring at the bookshelf. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me.

"Ryuzaki, what are you looking for?" I asked, exasperated. He looked at me from the corner of his eyes.

"A novel, Kaori-san." Well then. Finally, he grabbed one and I caught a glimpse of the cover.

_The Notebook _by Nicholas Sparks.

Oh dear.....

"Done?" I snapped, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Yes, Kaori-san. Now, I believe we should start to get to work for the day. There have been several more deaths linked to the files you provided." I clenched my jaw and walked to the main lobby, sitting down at my computer, which was right beside Ryuzaki's. Watari brought me my toasted bagel and green tea and I muttered a quick thanks, taking a sip. When Ryuzaki returned, he had a whole stack of books, placing them in between the two of us.

And the books.... were, well.

Interesting.

All of them were renowned ROMANCE novels.

Matsuda scurried over to Ryuzaki's side.

"Ryuzaki! There are so many! Why do you have all of these?" Matsuda shouted in surprise, drawing unnecessary attention.

"Research, Matsuda." Ryuzaki said, flipping through page after page very quickly. Within a matter of minutes, he had seemed to of read the whole book.

I stared at him, my jaw wide open, my eyes wide.

And everyone in the room was looking at me.

Then, I slammed my hand on the desk and stood up.

"Alright, everyone, what has Ryuzaki told you about me?" No response. "Please, like he hasn't said anything!" My glance shot to Ryuzaki. "So what'd you tell them, huh?" I asked, spinning his chair so her was facing me, my hands on either side of his head.

He never looked up from his book, still leafing through it.

"Coward!" I shouted, knocking the book out of his hands, sending it out of his hands.

"Kaori-chan." I spun around to see Misa standing up in the center of the room. "If no one else will say what Ryuzaki-kun said, then Misa will." I stood still, listening. She sighed slightly. "Ryuzaki-kun told us he slept with you once before."

My insides boiled. Everyone in the room took a few steps back, with the exception of Ryuzaki, who had decided to pick up another book and continued reading.

I could have done a lot of things at this point.

The options overwhelmed me, and I decided to do at least ONE rational thing.

I stepped past everyone and exited the main room, heading outside.

No one protested.

As soon as I was out of everyone's sight, near the exit of the building, I punched a whole in the glass window.

Oops.

I walked around the city, just trying to relax.

"Kaori-chan!" I spun around and saw Misa running to me. She stopped in front of me, bending over, her hands on her knees, panting hard.

"Yes, Misa-chan?" I asked, slightly concerned. How on Earth could she run in a Gothic Lolita dress and heels?

"Misa wants to know if Kaori-chan wants to go shopping!" Misa straightened up, beaming at me.

Shopping, not necessarily my thing.

Then again, heading back to the headquarters anytime soon wasn't exactly in my plan either.

"Sure, Misa, why not?"

We stood in the center of God knows which store. It seemed like the millionth store I had been in. And they ALL looked the same.

"Kaori-chan! Look here!!" Misa squealed, pulling me to look at yet another dress, outfit, whatever. I smiled slightly and flipped open my phone.

_Are you with Misa?_

_-Ryuzaki_

I snapped my phone shut, scowling. Misa looked up at me(I had about three or four inches on her. And I'm not even that tall.). "Something the matter?"

"Nothing..." I muttered to the younger girl. It then registered in my head that she's my age when I met Ryuzaki.

"You know, he really cares about you." Misa looked through the racks of clothing. I wheeled on her.

"What?" I asked, stunned.

"Ryuzaki. When you're there, all he does is look at you. His body seems to gravitate to you. And when you're not there, or you're angry at him, he seems sad. The first few days you were here, he seemed different. Happy... no.... complete. His eyes were different." Misa looked down. "No one believes I'm capable of anything, that I'm just a nuisance. But I really can tell how he feels about you. It's.... different. He acts differently with you. Kinder, gentler, and SOOOOO protective." My face blushed. "Have you noticed that he kinda thinks the rest of us are dispensable? That we can be replaced? Well, maybe not Light-kun.... But still! You should have seen him when you were getting those files! He was worried about you!" Misa exclaimed loudly, making me step backwards.

"Misa.... It's not that simple...." I muttered.

"What's not simple about it?! You love him!"

"I DO NOT LOVE HIM!" I shouted, storming off into the changing room, locking the door.

Jesus Christ will it ever end?

DONE!

Reviews=Love

Love=COOKIES!!!!!!!

Because of the Reflexive Property....

Reviews=COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!

Yay for Geometry!


	18. Taylor Swift

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I did, however, go to SONIC today!

IT WAS EPICNESS

You seriously have no idea.

**L's PoV**

Well.

She has yet to return my text.

I pondered this while I flipped through yet another book, this time one by Mary Stewart, while at the same time working on the computer.

These novels made me realize how little I honestly did know about women.

I had always enjoyed romance novels, don't get me wrong.

But really!

She shows all the signs that she loves me, as far as I can tell.

I bit my thumb in frustration. What is her problem?

I picked up my pace and read faster than I had been, hoping to at least find something that could help me.

**Kaori's PoV**

After about ten minutes of siting in the changing room, I saw something fly in from over the door.

It was a black, button-down shirt, not formal, but just formal enough to work.

"I figured you needed some clothes for working here. All of your other stuff seemed too formal." I heard Misa's voice from the other side of the door.

Numbly, I pulled the white shirt I had been wearing over my head, now only wearing a beige-colored bra, and slipped the shirt on over my head, fitting me perfectly.

"Can I see?" Misa asked quietly. Sighing, I opened the door and Misa smiled. "Wow! It really does fit perfectly!" she beamed. I smiled slightly.

"Misa, I'm sorry I yelled," I said, looking down. "I'm just... confused..." I looked down and felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Misa understands. Misa accepts your apology," she smiled. I chuckled slightly. "Does Kaori want to talk about it?"

Next thing I knew we were sitting in a bar, drinking drink after drink, becoming drunker with each passing second as I all but told my life story.

"Anddddd then I had this HUUUUGE swim meeet and I wanted -hic- him to come." I slurred, downing another glass of beer. Not my favorite drink, but better than nothing. Misa laughed, also hiccuping, and downed her drink as well. "Wellllll he came and watched! Seriously! Since when does Ryuuuzaki do ANYTHING?!" We both laughed loudly. "Then he came over and my mommy was gone at work. I think there was cake somewhere...." I tried to concentrate, but everything was fuzzy. Everything was fuzzy. Why the hell is everything fuzzy? Even Misa was fuzzy! I resisted the urge to start petting her. "And then... and then....." My eyes started to water. Misa shoved another drink at me.

"Ah cheer -hic- up! Be thankfuuuul someone even gives you a second glance! Light-kuuuuuun doesn't even look at me...." Misa trailed of, her own eyes watering. I started to laugh.

"I bet him and Ryuzaki are -hic- together! Kinky handcuffs and all!" We both were rolling on the ground, laughing. Stumbling up, I took another long sip of my drink. Suddenly, I felt my pocket vibrate. I fumbled for it, finally reaching my pocket the fifth time, and glanced at my phone. Hey... when it vibrated it looked funny too! I tried to remember what to do with it, and then realized I had to open it. After a few seconds, my finger slid to open it.

_Kaori-san? _

I scowled.

"Whaat?" I slurred God damn I must be really drunk.... I heard a crunching in the ear piece. I tried to drown out the noise.

_Stay where you are. I'm coming to retrieve you and Misa at once. _

**L's PoV**

Why in God's name did the two of them go off and get drunk? I scowled in annoyance as I snapped the phone shut, putting it back into my large pocket.

"Watari, would you mind starting up the car?"

We located the bar, Joe's Tavern, at which the location of Kaori's cellphone was. Light-kun and I walked in, still handcuffed together. I heard a man shout,

"Hey! The fagot bar is down the street!" I shot the man a glare and scanned the large room for Kaori.

I saw her in the corner, the buttons of her shirts undone, embracing a very intimidating man.

Striding over to them, I yanked at Kaori's arm, pulling her away from him, leaving them both with dumbstruck looks.

Light was picking up an unconscious Misa. I guess she isn't too good at holding her liquor.

"Hey man what the hell are you doing!?" The man shouted, clearly sober.

"You know she wouldn't want you if you were sober." I glared, still keeping a hold on Kaori's arm as she tried to keep her balance. This man was overweight, had lots of sweat stains, and looked like he needed to shave.

"Yeah? Well look at her! She doesn't even want you when she's drunk!" The man boomed as I faintly realized Kaori was struggling against my grip.

"Ryu-Ryuzakiiiii!" she wailed. "Let me go!" So when she's drunk she get whiny?

"Come here, baby." The man said, taking a step forward. I shoved Kaori behind me so that I was standing between the two. The man stared down at me. Even if I straightened up, he would still be several inches taller. "What you doing, man? The girl wants to be with me? You some jealous boyfriend or something?" Oh the irony....

"Let her leave with me." I said sternly.

"Ha! Can't let you do that, shrimp." The man grabbed behind me and took hold of Kaori's shoulder.

Before he could pull her forward, I was on my hands, my body twisting so I could kick him in the jaw, having him stagger backwards. Kaori screamed and Light was yanked to the ground because of the handcuffs. The bouncer ran towards us.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" The burly, black man said to us, looking back and forth.

"No, we shall be leaving now." I took, no, dragged Kaori to the exit and into Watari's car. He looked at the girls in concern but said nothing. Kaori continued to squirm.

"Let me leave!" She shouted loudly. Glancing at her still undone shirt, I swiftly buttoned them against her flailing arms. "Stop!" she shouted, pushing me in the chest. I sighed. Light looked at Misa, who was still asleep in his arms. I bet he wished Karoi would be as silent as Misa at the moment. She started pushing away from me, and in essence, pushing me against Light, who grunted in dislike.

"What are you doing...?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Go... over there.... with.... your lover," she grunted, trying to push me more and more against Light. Watari chuckled, mildly amused. Suddenly, her pushes became less and less forceful. Out of nowhere, I felt her head hit my shoulder.

Was she asleep?

She was breathing evenly, calmly, softly. I smiled softly at her, no one else seeing because of the darkness. I glanced at the digital clock in the car. It read about a quarter past midnight. Slowly, I brought my hands up to her hair, tucking the strands in her face behind her ear.

About half an hour later, we arrived back at headquarters. Light was beginning to drift off himself. Then I realized a problem.

We would not be able to carry both girls handcuffed together. Light realized this, stared at me, and said, "I am not Kira, Ryuzaki." I quickly undid the handcuff on my own wrist and placed it on Watari, Light giving me an annoyed look. I gently picked up Kaori, carrying her to her, err, my room.

After ascending the many stairs, I reached the room. I used my foot to open the door, deciding that was more effective then putting her down, and placed her on the bed.

She began to stir awake. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hair sticking up randomly.

"Wha- happened?" she slurred, still half drunk. I walked up to her side as she sat up slowly, holding her head. I was slouched over so my face was right above hers.

It was dark in the room, the only illumination was from the moon, entering from the wide window.

"Go to sleep." I said softly. Apparently, these words did not compute.

"You look beautiful...." she whispered, her face becoming even redder in her drunken state. I pressed my lips to her ear, as much as it hurt to say it,

"Sleep," I whispered into her ear.

Once again, these words did not process for her.

Instead, she decided to grab the back of my neck and pull me into a kiss. Instinctively, I kissed her back as she pulled me on top of her.

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nice, but....

It wasn't right.

It wasn't Kaori.

Regretfully, I pulled back and climbed off of her and off the bed.

She groaned in annoyance. "What are you doing!?" she shouted. I sighed.

"Not now." I said. Well, I really didn't know what to say. No books had anything like this in them.

"I HATE YOU!" Kaori screamed in her drunk state.

"Of course you do," I mumbled, walking out the door.

I tried to decide what to do.

I had read all the books on the subject of romance, so how could I further my knowledge on this?

Taylor Swift.

I will go listen to Taylor Swift songs.

Random ending FTW.

Reviews=Love

Reviewers get JELLYBEANS =)


	19. Self Control

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I did, however, do an awesome steam-blowing off set tonight.

I had a lot of pent up anger/energy, so it was nice :)

NOTE TO ALL WHO CARE: I decided to make a deal with myself. For every chapter I read/highlight/annotate in my Bio SAT book, I can write a chapter of this. Seeing as I read/highlighted/annotated over 60 pages last night.... I GOT TO WRITE TONIGHT!

Shows how much I really love you guys.

**Kaori's PoV**

Ugh

My eyes opened a slit, expecting bright light to blind me.

Instead, it was relatively dark, the large drapes covering the elaborate window.

My head pounding and slightly dizzy, I sat up in the bed. I was stiff and my neck and head were hurting. For some reason, my lips felt bruised and swollen.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a hunched, black-haired figure crouched in a chair.

Forgetting where I was for a moment, I instinctively shot up out of the bed, only to start falling to the ground. Quickly and swiftly, a pair of strong arms were placed around me, stopping my plummet.

"You should be more careful, Kaori-san," Ryuzaki whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine, despite my half coherency. He placed me on the bed, almost like a child.

"What happened?" I said, looking down. I tried to remember, but everything was fuzzy. I remember... drinking, that's for sure.

Talking to Misa.

Seeing some guy there.

Then someone getting hit.

Then being in a car.

And for some reason, this one image stuck out in my head.

Ryuzaki's face illuminated by the moonlight.

Beautiful, not other words could describe it.

And that was about as far as my memories went back.

"Well, Kaori-san, you are in fact very interesting when you are under the influence." Uh-oh....

"What did I do?" I asked sharply under my breath.

"Well, for one, you are incredibly whiny, ignorant, lacking of better judgment, and on top of that, irrational." Well that wasn't anything too bad I guess... "Oh, and you kissed me, and I believe you had every intention of sleeping with me."

Oh shit.

Oh SHIT.

I bit my lip to keep from spitting out some idiotic slur of words. Finally, I couldn't hold it.

"WHAT!?" I shouted, but then regretted it, gripping my head with one hand.

"You heard me, I'm certain." Ryuzaki said, biting his thumb. My face flushed. God damn, why couldn't I remember?

"Ryuzaki, I was drunk." I tried to explain. He coked his head to the side. "It meant nothing."

"You called me beautiful, which made me laugh." I stood agape at him. Did he really think he was bad looking?

"Ryuzaki, you're very good looking," the words slipped before I could catch them, making my face redder. I heard Ryuzaki chuckle deep in his throat.

"Hmm," he murmured. Suddenly, he stood up and walked over to me, standing right over me in an almost intimidating way. Using his index finger, he traced the area between my shoulder and neck, as is was exposed by my shirt, which the top buttons were undone, exposing my bra. Too bad I wasn't exactly thinking about that. Slowly, his finger traced to my jaw and my whole body began shaking. My fingers started drumming against my lap. I didn't have the strength, the will, to stop him. His fingers lightly passed over my collarbone.

_Now, _was the only thought going through my head. Without thinking, without second thought, I shot up to me feet and crushed my lips to Ryuzaki's.

Good God when will I learn?

I'm not sure how long it had been, but I slowly awoke. I was sleeping on my stomach. I sat up slightly and realized I wasn't dressed. I looked to my side and saw Ryuzaki on the other side of the bed, shirtless, staring at the ceiling.

Suddenly, I remembered what had happened before I had fallen asleep again.

Oh CRAP!

I rolled off the bed as fast as I could, covering myself with my articles of clothing, which were dispersed on the ground.

"What the fuck!?" I shouted at him. He leaned over the bed, cocking his head to the side.

"Why do you look so angry?" he asked me, his eyes wide and curious.

"Y-You took advantage of the situation!" I retaliated. "I was half asleep, not thinking straight, and well, fuzzy!" I couldn't think of a better word for it. He smirked slightly.

"Yes I did."

Well.

At least he's honest.

"You jerk! You all but seduced me!" I growled.

"Well it just seems some of us have better self control than others." Ok, that drew the line.

"Self control?" I hissed between my teeth.

"Well, you basically did the same thing to me last night, but I restrained myself." He said simplistically, as if reciting his multiplication tables.

"I was drunk!" I reminded him. "I'd really hope you wouldn't take advantage of THAT situation." He gave me a thoughtful look.

"I can understand your reasoning," was his simple answer. I glared at him.

"Turn around." I commanded. He gave me a questioning look. "I need to get dressed." I said sternly, rolling my eyes.

"It's not as if I haven't seen-"

"RYUZAKI!" I barked as he turned his back to me. I grabbed my bag from underneath the large bed and took out a change of clothes and began to slip them on. As I began buckling my belt, a thought crossed my mind. "Ryuzaki, was that the first time since...." I trailed off.

"Yes, and it was well worth the wait." His answer caused my face to redden. "And yourself?" I bit my lip but then sighed.

"Yeah, same." I breathed, pulling my shirt on.

"Excuse my questioning, but what does this mean?" Ryuzaki asked. I tossed my head back. I knew this was coming.

"I'm sorry Ryuzaki, but I don't know. It was lust, if that." I said looking at the floor, not having a better answer. "We can't be doing this...."

**L's PoV**

"Understood," I said to the wall, keeping my back turned to her as I too dressed myself quickly.

"I'm done," Kaori said, turning to face me as I pulled my shirt over my head. "Where's Light-kun?" she asked and I mentally smacked myself.

"With Watari, and I told him I'd only be a few minutes. I should probably go retrieve him. Excuse me, Kaori-san." I glanced at the clock. 11:45. Damn it, I told him I'd be done by ten.

I quickened my pace and exited the room.

Lust, not love.

For her, but not for me.

I can't even begin to explain what I feel for her now.

**Kaori's PoV**

I began tidying up the room as Ryuzaki all but ran out. I stretched my muscles, feeling tight, stiff.

And then I realized something.

He was there when I woke up this time.

DONE!

Reviews=Love, of course.

Be glad I stayed up much later than usual to publish this.


	20. Shimmer

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note.

I SINCERELY APOLOGIZE for the lack of updates! My coach was in the 'go-hard-or-go-home' mode all last week and I was, well, dead by the end of everyday.

On top of that, I had to write a rough draft, study, blah blah blah...

This week will be tough too, I have to write a final draft for a paper, which is due Monday. However, I'm going to be at a swim meet ALL weekend, including Friday night(Swimming the mile, FML) and the meet is over two hours away both Saturday and Sunday, and I'm afternoon session. Which means... I can't write those nights :'(

I will try to update this week, but please don't kill me if I get slightly delayed again!

**SPECIAL NOTE: **This is officially my most chaptered(is that even a word?) story, beating my previous record of 19 chapters(You Are From Where)!

**L's PoV**

I swiftly reached the room at which Light and Watari were. Misa was in the shower, I assumed and Light look quite annoyed.

"A little late?" he inquired as I hooked myself up to Light, dismissing Watari as I squatted next to him. "I had things to tend to." I replied simply. Light gave me an inquisitive look. "Don't worry, Light-kun, it does not concern you." Light stared at me for a moment and revelation reached him.

"You two have one twisted relationship."

**Kaori's PoV**

After about thirty minutes, I headed downstairs to get to work. It was a little later than I would normally start work, and to top that off, my head was still pounding. That's the strongest effect I get from a hangover; the headache is near unbearable. I sat down in my spinning chair, leaning back slightly. Watari came over and handed me a cup of green tea, temporarily soothing my throbbing temples.

Ryuzaki was crouched in his chair to my left, looking at one thing after another, clicking endlessly through screen after screen while I myself multi-tasked doing work for Ryuzaki and for my actual job, which was working as a translator and associate between Japan and America for IBM.

"Kaori-san, you're job requires you to speak English, no?" Ryuzaki asked, not taking his eyes off the screens.

"Yes, why?" I asked.

"I seem to recall you saying that you were never going to need English and that it was a waste of your time." I scowled slightly.

"Things change." I snapped.

"Hmm we might want to take a look at this...." Ryuzaki muttered and I peered at the one of the screens. Open was Misa's email.

"Hey! That's my email!" Misa shouted, angry.

"I have a warrant." Was Ryuzaki's simple response. The most recent message was from Higuchi and my fists tightened.

Ryuzaki clicked it open.

_Misa_

_I am having a grande office party tomorrow night and I would like you to accompany me to it._

_This invitation is open to your friends, of course, I would certainly love to meet them._

_Remember, formal attire. _

_-Higuchi_

We all stared at the screen, taking in this new information.

"Well now, I believe we could use this to our advantage."

Oy vey....

"What do you mean you have no formal attire?" Ryuzaki asked as I rolled my eyes.

"Ryuzaki, do you have any idea how long it's been since I've had to get dressed up?" I replied.

"Well of course not," Ryuzaki replied curtly as I glared at him from my chair. Feeling very antsy, I stood up and stretched. I glanced around the room. Everyone one was on their respective computers and Misa was on the couch, reading some magazine. Suddenly, she shot up.

"Misa knows what to do!" she shouted as she grabbed my wrist, leading me into the kitchen.

"What are we doing...." I wondered aloud, looking at the girl oddly. She began rummaging through one of the drawers and pulled out a tape measure and wrapped it around my hips, writing down the measurement on a pad of paper. She then started measuring my hips and I jumped back. "What are you doing?!" I whisper-shouted.

"Measurements, duh!" Misa said as she wrapped the tape around my hips again.

"For what?" I snapped, slightly annoyed.

"I found a dress for you, but I need your size..." Misa mumbled, concentrating hard. I decided it was better not to argue. She then measured my bust, shoulder length, arm length, and God knows what else.

"Ok, Kaori-chan, I can get this dress by this afternoon! Now for shoes....."

It was going to be a long twenty-four hours...

**L's PoV**

It was now the day of this supposed party.

We all had our roles.

Ide, Mogi, Aizawa, and Soichiro would be working the scene from the outside.

Matsuda, of course, would go as Misa's manager.

Light was going as her brother, and I was going as and old friend, as was Kaori.

And now I stood in front of the mirror in my suite, staring at my reflection in the glass mirror of the bathroom.

What was I to do with myself for this party?

The party is formal, so it is to be expected that I should be dressed up and presentable. I already had a suit set aside, but what was I to do now?

Light-kun stood by my side, brushing his own hair, teeth, and such. He sprayed some foam looking substance into his hair, applying it. I heard someone walk into the main door. Kaori glanced into the bathroom quickly, seeing Light and I inside.

"Sorry, I just had to grab a bag," she said, stepping inside. I noticed that she was still wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants and tank top, her toothbrush hanging from her mouth. Her hair was wet, it looked like she had just stepped out of the shower. She rummaged through a few cabinets before retrieving a slim, black bag.

"Kaori-san, we leave in less than an hour, and you're not even dressed, nor is your hair done." I chastised. I glared at me for a moment, Light-kun glancing at us from the corner of his eyes.

"Well, Ryuzaki, I have my dress all ready to put on, Misa is doing my hair, all that I have to do is put my makeup on. Do you know what you're doing with YOUR hair?" She asked, smirking slightly. I glanced at her, cocking my head slightly.

"Touche."

She seemed satisfied with this and turned out of the room. "Oh, Ryuzaki," she peered into the room. "A good start would be brushing your hair." She then exited the room. Light looked at me, his own toothbrush hanging from his mouth, seeing what I was going to do.

I picked up the brush and began running it through my matted hair.

**Kaori's PoV**

"This is so great! We never get to get all dressed up!" Misa squealed, running the blow dryer over my hair. I bit my lip. It was still a tad swollen from a few nights ago, I noted with annoyance. It seemed Misa had been drying my hair for FOREVER.

"Are we almost done?" I grumbled. The loud noise was starting to annoy me. Misa sighed.

"Almost, Kaori-chan! You're hair is thick, so it takes awhile to dry." I growled slightly and reisnged to looking through a magazine that Misa had placed on the bed. Gothic-Lolita, of course. Finally, the noise ceased. She began running some sticky substance through my hair, as I continued to bite my lip in annoyance.

Patience is a virtue, I decided.

**L's PoV**

Light and I stood in the main lobby, waiting for both Misa and Kaori to finish up. I stood against the door, hunched over. I hated the feeling of my feet in shoes. So... unnatural, being unable to feel the ground beneath you. I didn't like it.

Light, to my side, however, seemed at ease, occasionally glancing at his watch. Suddenly, we heard Misa's bubbly voice carry down the stairs. She bounced down the stairs, hoping into Light's arms. She was wearing a black and red strapless dress with fishnet leggings, her blond hair lying down her back.

"Okay! Misa-san wants everyone to watch the stairwell for Kaori-chan!" She bounced up and down like a child on Christmas morning.

"Is this really necessary?" Kaori called from the stairs.

"Yes! We've never seen you dressed up!" I heard Kaori huff as her shoes clicked down that stairs. Was she wearing heels?

Standing before me was Kaori. About two inches taller in her black, strappy heels, she wore an angular black halter dress, strands reaching right above her ankle on one half before trailing up to about mid-thigh on the other. Her hair was crimped and curled, making it slightly shorter than her shoulders.

"Spin around!" Misa shouted. Now all were in the room, staring at her in awe. She rolled her bright brown eyes slightly, still smirking. Her back was near bare, only two ties were there, one at the base of her neck, the other at mid-back. Her muscles and tightness in her back were impeccable. She walked towards Misa, Light, and I.

"Don't stare, Ryuzaki, it's rude." she teased lightly. I grasped her free hand and brought it to my lips, kissing it chastely. Her cheeks turned pink, bringing out the color of her lips. The warmth radiating off of her was alluring. My eyes caught hers, her chocolate ones twinkling. The eye shadow she applied made them shimmer even brighter, sparkling. I couldn't tear my eyes from hers.

Suddenly, Soichiro cleared his throat.

My head snapped to his in annoyance, failing to keep my face impassive.

"Perhaps we should go." Kaori voiced quietly, her hand dropping from mine.

DONE!

Reviews=Cookies=Love

It's simple math, people.


	21. Martini

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I do, however, have the inability to swim long course meters.... I'll stick with short course, thanks.

Me gusta turns.

Wow, no update in awhile.... Well to those of you who actually read the authors notes I finished my research paper and am now in the final stretch of school for the year. That's right, all review and little to no homework. Guess who can actually update now?

**Kaori's PoV**

We rode in the dim car, the only lights coming from the passing streetlights. Misa was talking to Light about nothing in particular, Light was pretending to be interested, and Ryuzaki was staring out the window. Suddenly, Watari handed back a large bag to Ryuzaki. Ryuzaki pulled out several items, handing certain ones to each of us.

"I'd like each of us to have an ear piece. It's a skin tone color, thus it won't be noticeable." I placed the small device into my ear, ignoring the slight crackling sound it was making. Next, Ryuzaki handed each of us a tiny cap of sorts. "This goes over your right back molar, sized perfectly for each of you. It'll act as a microphone. Anything any of us say from now until the end of the party is audible to everyone in this car." I nodded, opening my mouth to fit the cap onto my tooth. Then, Ryuzaki looked at me. "And everyone be careful."

After about a thirty minute ride, we reached the front of the familiar building. It looked larger, grander now.

Despite this, I entered with the idea of going into a war zone.

Except instead of battle armor, I'm wearing a cocktail dress.

Fantastic.

Watari opened the door for us and I stepped out of the car, my heels clicking onto the sidewalk. Misa clung to Light's arm and I felt Ryuzaki snake his arm around my waist. I jumped.

"For show, Kaori-san." Ryuzaki whispered into my ear, making goosebumps rise. I opened my mouth to protest but decided it wasn't worth it.

Besides, I was a little chilly.

The door greeter smiled brightly at us as we walked in, the lobby turned into a grande entrance. The man ushered us to where the party was being hosted and we entered a large ballroom, all of the women wearing lavish evening dresses and the men wearing suits. I shuffled my feet uncomfortably. This was something I'm not used to. It's not to late to leave, right?

Sensing my hesitation, Ryuzaki squeezed my waist slightly.

It was almost like we were really a couple.

Except.... we aren't.

Nor were we ever.... or were we?

I shook my head. Now was not the time to dwell on such topics. I can't risk an explosion right now. That'd be pretty bad.

"Welcome!" a man boomed as we entered. I examined the man's face and recognized him.

Higuchi.

Anger in me boiled. Him, Kira. The man who killed my father, the soulless person who killed. My jaw clenched.

Misa hopped over to him, leaving Light on his own.

"Ah, Higuchi-kun! This is my brother, Light-niisan and my two friends, Ryuzaki-kun and Kaori-chan!" The many looked us over, nodding his head in approval at Light and I and snorting in dislike at Ryuzaki, sensing dressing up was not in his nature. Not even five minutes in, Ryuzaki had begun to undo his tie, claiming it was 'choking' him. I glared at Higuchi, my disdain increasing.

"Something wrong?" I sneered. Higuchi seemed taken back and Misa, Light, and Ryuzaki all turned to look at me.

"N-no. Nothing at all." Higuchi stammered, surprised. Apparently, I was giving off a pretty dangerous aura. Oops.

"Now, feel free to mingle amongst everyone." Higuchi said, placing his arm around Misa and walking her around the room, showing her off to anyone who would glance his way. Light looked slightly pained. I gave him a sympathetic half-smile as to which he shrugged.

I undid myself from Ryuzaki and started walking off to where they were serving drinks. I felt him grab my wrist.

"No." he said sternly, looking straight at me. My jaw dropped slightly.

"Ryuzaki, I'm twenty-five, I'm allowed a few drinks, no?" I hissed under my breath.

"Not now, no." Ryuzaki replied cheekily. I glared at him, angry. He sighed and put his hands on my shoulders. "And calm down." I turned away from him, sending his arms off of me and walked towards the bar, ordering myself a martini. Ryuzaki looked awestruck. I saw a tall, broad shouldered man walk up to the bar, standing to the side that would not obscure me from Ryuzaki's view. I glanced at Ryuzaki and smirked slightly. Might as well have some fun.

**L's PoV**

As she stalked off to the bar, I stared at her. Would she really disobey me like that? I suppose so...

Suddenly, a figure tall man stepped to her side, ordering something for himself. Kaori glanced at me and smirked, and fixated her gaze upon the man.

He was very tall, muscular. He had shaggy brown hair and a defined face, rugged.

The complete opposite of myself.

My fists started clenching and unclenching, my toes wiggling in my shoes. Good lord I hate shoes.

She smiled brightly at him, laughing at some lame joke he told her. Was I really going to lose to this guy? Of course not.

I strutted over to the two, standing to Kaori's side.

"Umm, may I help you?" the man said, his voice deep. I started to sniff him slightly.

"Kaori-san, how can you stand being around him? He has a very strong smell to him. Cologne.... maybe quite a bit too much." I replied, looking him over.

"What the hell, man?" The man shouted, drawing attention to us.

"Umm, Ryuzaki, I think you need to back off." It was a command from Kaori, who looked enraged. I was quite pleased with myself.

"Very well then, come on Kaori-san." I said, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the man. Once we were far enough away, I spun her to look at me, her drink still in her hand.

"What the hell!" she shouted, snapping her hand out of mine.

"You may or may not have realized this, Kaori-san," I leaned down and whispered into her ear. "We are exactly the same in the sense that we hate to lose." I saw the goosebumps on her neck rise, turning pink. I smirked, getting the reaction I wanted. Lightly, I pressed my lips lightly to her neck, enjoying the feeling of its warmth, causing her to gasp slightly.

Suddenly, she jumped back, glaring at me.

And then my whole face was wet.

"Learn some fucking social grace!" she proclaimed, stomping off, but not before she threw her now empty glass at me.

DONE!


	22. Reaction

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I do, however, own my new story, "Sweets and Tea". It's going to be a bunch of Reader X L drabbles.

Because my time on FanFiction wouldn't be complete without a drabble series.

Anywho.

Check it out, love it, hate it, review it. Tell me what you think.

And I also think you guys should review this story, too. Just saying.

**Kaori's PoV**

Good God!

I stomped off away from Ryuzaki in a fit of rage. It's none of his business if I flirt with guys! I'm twenty five, goddammit, I think I'm allowed THAT much freedom!

_You wanted a reaction from him. _

I groaned. Did I? Did I want him to react?

Am I.... testing him?

I shook off the thought, re-clouding my thoughts with those of anger and frustration.

As I continued storming around, trying to burn off anger, I ran into someone.

"Watch where-" I started shouting before looking down and seeing Misa, scared for her life at my outburst. Her drink was spilled on the front of my dress. Higuchi stood at her side.

"What's going on here?" he demanded. I gave him a hard glare.

At least now all of my anger was directed at him.

"I ran into her. It was my fault." I said shortly, not taking my eyes off of him.

"Misa will take her to get cleaned up!" Misa said, grabbing my arm.

"Very well then, take her to the bathroom." Higuchi said, walking off. Misa dragged me out of the ballroom and past a security guard. Once we were out of earshot, I whispered to Misa,

"Where are we going?"

"When I was here last time, we had a gathering in Higuchi's office." Misa explained, pausing slightly, trying to remember her trail. We began running, which might I add, is very difficult in shoes.

"Be careful." a voice whispered in my ear. I, quite literally, jumped, as did Misa.

"Holy shit, Ryuzaki!" I hissed, trying to slow my heart. No response came and we continued. Suddenly, we reached a very large door.

"In here," Misa whispered.

"Misa, you go back." I said quickly.

"W-what? Why?" she stammered.

"Higuchi will become suspicious if you aren't back. Please hurry back!" I urged. She nodded slowly before darting down the hall and out of sight. Has I watched her leave, I thought back to what Ryuzaki had given my in a note this morning, disguising it in my newspaper.

_Do not trust Misa nor Light. Both are suspects of being Kira. If you have any chance to retrieve information on your own, please make every effort to do it on your own. _

_I trust you._

The words were engraved behind my eyes. He trusted me, yet I couldn't trust him. How twisted is that?

Slowly and cautiously, I opened the door. It looked the same from when I had broken in several weeks earlier. Everything seemed to have been reapeared. Chills ran down my spine as I recalled the room, being chased by the police, retrieving the data.

I took the digital camera that would feed back to Matsuda's computer a few blocks away, instantly uploading them. I took as many pictures as possible, knowing we could enlarge them later. I walked to the desk, not daring to turn the computer on.

I glanced over the desk, taking into account the messiness and the multiple scraps of paper.

Suddenly, my eyes came across a book that had the words 'Death Note' scrawled across the top.

I know Ryuzaki instructed me not to touch anything, but this could be the evidence we needed to convict Higuchi.

Death Note, huh? Perhaps it was his way of recording deaths, keeping track of who he had killed.

Including my father.

Before I could even think through the consequences, I picked up the notebook and started leafing through the pages, frantically looking for his name.

Suddenly, I felt a presence behind me.

I whirled around and gasp in horror.

And then I screamed bloody murder.

DONE!

Ewwww it was short.

Then again, this was done late Sunday night, so I bet you can forgive me.

Reviews=Love, so please review. Cause then I wanna write more. And I like writing =)


	23. Trust

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I did, however, get to play Ultimate Frisbee today instead of going to practice.

REBEL

**L's PoV**

One moment, everything was calm. I could hear Kaori's steady breathing in my ear. On the outside, I was reserved, in my own world, crouched in a chair in a corner. On the inside, my mind was wrapped around what Kaori was doing.

The next moment, there was an ear-shattering scream in my ear.

My whole body jumped, and soon I was on my feet.

In the fastest paced walk I could manage without running I proceeded to the nearest restroom. Thankfully, no one was in there.

"Kaori, what seems to be the problem?" I inquired quickly.

"Holy shit what the hell are you?" she screamed, her breaths becoming panicked.

"Kaori, what is it? What's there?" I repeated, slightly louder this time.

"Don't kill me!" she shouted once again, true fear behind what she was saying. I bit my lip, wondering what to do. Was she serious, or was she fooling me? Both options seem to be equally likely. Suddenly, her breathing picked up from panicked to hysteria.

Ok, she isn't faking.

I rushed out of the bathroom and plotted the best route to reach her. She was no doubt in Higuchi's office, only she would be so blunt as to go to the most important and dangerous room first.

By passing the 'guards' was easy.

I grabbed two drinks from the bar and shuffled my way to the guards.

"Higuchi-san requested I give these to you." I said quickly, handing them the mugs of beer. Glancing at each other, the two guards shrugged, clinked glasses, and took long draws. Within less than ten seconds, both of the guards were lying on the floor, passed out.

Moving quickly, I shoved aside the two men behind the desk to prevent suspicion, for now, at least.

It's wonders what simple benzodiazepine can do.

The layout of the building clearly in my head, I ran through the hallways, listening for Kaori's occasional shouts of horror., clearly beyond consolidation now.

Finally, I reached Higuchi's door, now ajar slightly.

Pushing my way in, I stood to the left of the door and closed it, locking it. I saw Kaori on the ground, staring up in horror.

Staring up at... nothing?

"Ryuzaki!" she shouted, eyes wide. "Get out of here before it kills us!"

What?

I gave her an odd look. "Kaori-san, what are you talking about?" Had she finally cracked? Suddenly, her eyes went back to the spot she had been staring at not long before, as if listening to someone. Rapidly, she grabbed a small composition notebook and tossed it at me. I looked down at the book and started leafing through the pages.

All of the names were that of criminals who had died.

"Ryuzaki, look straight!" My head snapped up.

Well then.

This was certainly unexpected.

**Kaori's PoV**

I saw Ryuzaki's head look up and his eyes widened at what he saw.

"Shinigami?" He voiced almost silently. The... beast, I suppose you could say, regarded him.

"That is correct." The shinigami replied coolly. "I am Rem."

"And I suppose this... notebook is yours?" Rem hesitated for a moment.

"To a degree, yes."

"Allow me to rephrase myself, have you been the one writing down these names?" Ryuzaki asked.

"No," was Rem's quick response. I curled my toes in my sandals.

"Are you assisting Higuchi-san in his attempts to rid the world of criminals?" Ryuzaki asked again.

"No. And I do not believe you are in a good position to question me," Rem all but threatened. "I believe Higuchi is the one you really desire, no?"

"Of course, however, you are too a part of this situation, correct?" Ryuzaki shot back. The two entered a staring contest.

It was broken by a loud banging at the door.

"Open up now! I know you're in there!" Higuchi's voice boomed, making me jump. Ryuzaki chucked the book at me.

"Put it where you found it and turn the light off." Ryuzaki mouthed to me. Confused, I obliged. The banging got louder, verging on the door breaking. My eyes unadjusted to the lacl of light, I nearly screamed when I felt Ryuzaki's presence in front of me, his face close to mine. I could feel his hot breath over my face.

"Trust me on this one." Ryuzaki whispered quickly right as he pressed his lips to mine, firm and tense.

Enraged, I tried to shove him away from me, but he kept a firm grip on me, not letting go.

Then I realized what he was doing.

Clever, wasn't he?

Well even if we were doing this to protect ourselves, I wasn't going to give in too easily to him.

So I started kissing him back, wrapping my arms around his neck. He seemed surprised, but he too didn't seem to want to lose.

He pressed me against Higuchi's desk, bracing an arm on either side, basically imprisoning me. In annoyance, I grabbed at the hair at the base of his neck painfully. As retaliation, he lightly bit my lip. I growled slightly at him. Distantly, I heard the louder and louder bangs at the door. One of his arms left the desk and went to the small of my back, pulling me against him.

And then the door broke in.

"What the hell are you doing in my office?" Higuchi boomed as Ryuzaki and I broke apart quickly.

"I apologize, I did not believe you would be returning to you office so early," Ryuzaki said smoothly.

"Get the hell out!" Higuchi growled. We hustled out, leaving Higuchi alone in the room.

"That ended much too soon..." Ryuzaki muttered. I shot him a glare and he silenced.

As we walked down the long corridor I scratched at my ear.

And then I remembered the earpieces and microphones.

And not only had Rem seen everything, but Misa and Light had heard EVERYTHING.

"Ryuzaki, these need an off button." Light rasped from afar.


	24. Hum

DISCLAIMER: swim4life4ever does NOT own Death Note. I did, however, see Toy Story 3 today. I had forgotten how much I love those toys!

Sorry for the well overdue update! I am OFFICIALLY finished with school for the summer. WOOT!

**Kaori's PoV**

I swiveled around in the chair at the breakfast table, located in the kitchen. I glanced at the clock, which contained both the date and the time. 7:45 A.M, October 31st.

Huh, it's Halloween.

And it might be the safest Halloween ever.

As much as I hate to admit it, crime rates have plummeted with Kira's presence. Hell, even I felt somewhat safer going out at night.

But that doesn't mean Kira is justice, or is right.

Light walked into the room, now free of Ryuzaki. Light and the rest of the task force demanded that, with the evidence proving Higuchi Kira, Light was free of suspicion. Reluctantly, Ryuzaki agreed, and Light was free to do as he pleased.

"Good morning, Kaori-san," Light greeted kindly. I smiled at him and tossed him an apple.

"Eat, child. You're a stick." I chastised lightly. He took a bite out of the apple obligingly. "Besides, do you really think Ryuzaki wants a malnourished member of the team? You know his theory, food equals brain power. You've seen the way he eats."

"Well I suppose you're right," Light said, taking a bite out of his apple once again. "Kaori-san, I have a question for you. Feel free not to answer if you wish not to, I am just curious." I sat up. "Kaori-san... why are you doing this to him?"

Not only the question, but Light's tone also threw me off.

"Elaborate, Light, if you may." I said coolly, placing my chin in my hand. He sighed.

"Ryuzaki... he really cares. I know what Misa said to you, and she's right. I know you don't need me to repeat what she said, correct?"

"Nope!" I replied quickly. "And quite honestly, I don't think you're in a position to give me advice on my non-existent relationship with Ryuzaki. Sorry, but this is a little over your head. You can't even give your own girlfriend the time of day."

"Exactly!" Light exclaimed. "You're right, I don't even know WHY I'm with Misa, so I can't have feeling for her, no? But what Ryuzaki feels for you is REAL. And you feel the same way, I can tell!" In one, swift movement, I kicked the backs of Light's knees, effectively knocking him to the floor.

"Do NOT tell me what to do." I gritted between my teeth as Light looked up at me with both a look of shock and slight anger. I glared down at him and sighed, lending him my hand, which he took. I pulled him to his feet and he locked eyes with me.

"Now I see why Ryuzaki fell for you." I shot him a confused look. "You don't back down." And he walked off.

I hate people.

**-Later That Day-**

I flopped onto my bed(or rather, Ryuzaki's bed). I stretched my arms above my head, feeling my muscles uncoil. It had been a REALLY long day. I was stiff from sitting in my chair all day, eyes glued to a screen. It was late, now about midnight. I stared to stare at the ceiling and felt myself doze off. After a few moments of closing my eyes, I reopened them to find Ryuzaki's facing staring intently at mine not three inches away.

"Holy shit!" I shouted, spazzing out on the bed. Ryuzaki gave me a bemused look.

"Hello, Kaori-san," he said in typical monotone, not leaning away.

"Hi... Jeez Ryuzaki, personal space." I pushed his shoulders away slightly. I sat up on the bed cross-legged, Ryuzaki doing the same. "Need something?" I asked.

"Kaori-san, what I'm about to ask you is very important to the case, and I hope for you to be completely and fully honest in what you tell me," Ryuzaki said in a deadpan. I laughed slightly, trying to lighten the mood.

"Ryuzaki, after all the questions we've been asked during my tenure here, I doubt you could throw me off." Suddenly, Ryuzaki's face turned grim.

"Tell me what happened with your father."

"No." I snapped.

"I repeat, this is important to the case. Please, Kaori-san." Ryuzaki stated again.

"You have hundreds on victims with family members," I sneered.

"And yet you're the only one I have met face-to-face with."Ryuzaki replied tersely. I gripped at blankets. No matter what tactic or approach I took, Ryuzaki would win this one. No escape.

"After that night I first drank..."

_My mind was fuzzy. I cracked open my eyes. It was still dark out. My head was splitting and throbbing. I bit on my lip, drawing blood. _

_I tried to stand up but came crashing to the floor in a dizzy haze. I laid on my back, staring at the ceiling, just breathing. Inhale, exhale. Distantly, I heard my door open and someone come pounding in. "Holy shit, Kaori..." I heard a man slur. My eyes darted to my father, standing over me, playing around with the now empty bottle in his hand. I tried to speak, but not words came out. "Kaori..." he whispered, lifting me off the ground, placing me on the bed. He smelled like booze, but he was only buzzed, not drunk. _

"_Your mom is going to realize this is gone." He looked at the bottle dumbly. "Lemme get another one so she doesn't realize it's gone."_

_I had a block of ice in my throat, but managed to choke the words "thank you." _

_He nodded and left the room._

_Three hours later the cops were at my door._

"He had hit a 16 year old girl crossing the road. He couldn't see her, it was so dark out. They saw the empty bottle in the car." My voice was shaky, my whole body was shaking. I bit my lip.

"What was he charged with?" Ryuzaki asked. All business, no empathy.

"Manslaughter, sentenced to 15 years." I sneered the words. "About a month after the Kira killings began, the police came to our door and-" Suddenly, I couldn't speak. My lips were quivering, my eyes prickling with tears. Sensing my hesitation, Ryuzaki placed his hands softly yet firmly on my shoulders, steadying me. "They came and told me he was DEAD. Kira attack, nonetheless. The way they told me, careless! No remorse, no nothing!" I spat in rage. I felt the tears beginning to roll down my face.

"Kaori-san, you said your father was wrongfully charged, elaborate." I let out on laugh, actually, more like a bark, of outrage.

"The girl that was killed was pushed into the street by her friends! Turns out she was in a cat fight of sorts, over some boy I believe. No one could have stopped in time!" I shouted.

"The police didn't know of this?" Ryuzaki asked.

"They didn't believe a word my father said! He did have past felonies, DUIs, but never anything like this!" I shouted. "And now, he's dead, because of Kira!"

"That's why you were so adamant about working on the case..." Ryuzaki trailed off.

"I can't let the murderer of an innocent man walk free! Kira thinks that the media gives the full, correct justification of criminals! He couldn't be more wrong! He has to be stopped! He jus-" I was cut off my Ryuzaki pulling my head to his chest, wrapping his arms around me. In that moment, the tears began to fall uncontrollably. My body shook with violent tremors of suppressed sobs.

"It's okay, it's okay," Ryuzaki cooed quietly, tracing delicate patterns on my back, trying to calm me.

I'm not sure how long we stayed like that. Slowly, my tears stopped and I was just shaking from being cold. Yet Ryuzaki gave me a sort of outer warmth. He gently laid me down on the bed, my head resting on the pillow. His arm was around my waist, keeping me warm. I felt him start to get up to leave but, against my better judgment, I grabbed his wrist.

"Don't go," I muttered and, distantly, I believe I heard an amused chuckle as I felt Ryuzaki lay on the bed as he pulled me to his chest. He tucked my head underneath his chin and tightened his grip on me. I knew he wouldn't fall asleep, the few times I knew he had slept were spent sitting up in his chair, certainly not in a bed.

He began to hum softly, the vibrations soothing me as I drifted off to sleep.

**L's PoV**

Slowly, Kaori's breathing became more and more steady, indicating that she was asleep. Her back was against my stomach, keeping me warm, despite the chilled room.

She looked beyond spent. Her eyes, even closed, were swollen. There were marks from where her tears had dried.

I hated it.

Watching her cry, it was deifnalty something I had almost never seen. But sometimes... she just breaks down.

One thing is for sure.

I will bring Kira to justice, even if it is the death of me.

DONE!

Reviews=Love!


End file.
